Babies
by AdamaGirl
Summary: Key moments told in a multi-chapter fic, of the past, present, and future lives of Bill & Laura... all of them involving the topic of "babies" to a certain degree! Chapter 21- the final chapter, is now posted!
1. Chapter 1: Little Bull

_**Disclosure: I do not own BSG or any of its characters, yet they live on in my heart. SO SAY WE ALL!**_

QUALAI

William Joseph Adama, otherwise known as Bill the Little Bull, crept down the flight of stairs as carefully as his slightly bowed legs could muster. It was a tall order, indeed, especially considering how excited he was to continue his ongoing and very top-secret, undercover operation.

From his vantage point at the top of the second floor landing, Bill had watched as his mother, Evelyn, and his father Joe, left for work. The pair had been 'debating' an issue, quite loudly, since breakfast. Mami left first, with a slam of the front door that threatened to shatter the gorgeous stained-glass panes set within the door panel's timbers. Then, after a few minutes time, Dati, with a deep breath to compose himself, left as well.

Sadly, mornings in the Adama household had been like that, more often than not.

No one had noticed days ago, when Bill found the old key attached to a braided leather loop of a fob, lying on the tiled floor of the foyer. His father often kept such a key on his person, in the left pocket of his pants, but sadly he never spoke of what it was for.

Today, young Bill aimed to find out!

At four years of age, he was quite precocious and wise beyond measure. Sneaking about, Bill imagined himself the hero of his favorite cartoon, Jason: The Argo-Naut. Like Jason, the tot fancied that he was on the hunt of a great relic, or other part of a further mystery.

And the key in question, was just that- the key to finding such treasure!

Bill stared at the patina of the metal piece in his surprisingly large hands. The greenish color meant that it was old. So, it made sense that whatever said key went to, must also be old as well.

That meant only one thing.

Looking about, and over his shoulder, Bill reverently made his way to his father's study.

He never dared go into the room when Joe was home, and in the times he did it was because he'd been a naughty boy. Dati would have summoned him, allowed him to have plead his case, and then handed down his ruling on what sentence would be have to be met.

Such was the life of a lawyer's son.

The room just breathed the word _old_. Even though the Adama beach house itself was younger than Bill by one year, the private office had a way of feeling ancient. Not like quite like Olympus, but close. Joe had it built in the style of a Tauron library, full of fine leather and imported dark hardwoods. Rows and rows of books filled the shelved walls, all the way to the ceiling. A rolling ladder beckoned to be ridden around on rails, but Mami had forbidden such an action, saying her Little Bull could get hurt far too easily and that would make her cry.

Ignoring the tempting ladder, Bill went straight to the most hallowed item in the study.

Joseph Adama's desk. It loomed large, even in such a spacious room.

An equally impressive chair sat neatly behind the heavily carved plane of furniture. Bill climbed into the enveloping leather- which was no easy feat, considering the chair was set on rolling casters- and placed his moist palms on the desk blotter.

He slid open drawers. Gently moved papers. A flat wooden box in the bottom right drawer gave promise, but there was no lock on it to be found. It opened easily to reveal a generous number of fragrant Paloma label cigars.

Frustrated, Bill banged his fists on the desk. It was an act that mimicked his father, and was actually hard enough to shake the mighty wood structure. So much in fact, a gentle rattle could be heard coming from the center of the desk! Bill pushed the chair backward and stared at the relief work that decorated the upper part of the desk where it joined the twin columns of drawers.

Centaurs danced with goddesses amidst great cauldrons of flames, while Pan played his flute. The scene was from something called a _bacchanalia_ , whatever that was.

The area around the carving of a goddess' exposed bottom appeared worn. His olive skin blushing, Bill touched the wood there lightly, and found it to give a little. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he pressed a finger hard into the button... until it popped out like so much magic!

Revealed there in the desk, appeared a slot meant for a key of such a size and width as the one that dangled from young Bill Adama's wrist.

With a shrug, Bill inserted the key into the carved goddess' rump, and gave the metal bit an easy turn.

Hammers clicked and no time at all, a narrow and slim drawer slid out from its formerly secret position below the desktop.

Eureka! Open Sesame!

Bill stared in wonder of the stash within.

The items were disappointingly mundane. A used book of matches. Ticket stubs to past Pyramid games. A glass vial holding a small amount of dirt. Coin cubits. A few old letters, one of them with a crispy, dried flower tucked inside the envelope. There were a couple photographs of his mother; one of them of her in a pretty white dress, and then a silly one of her standing with his father- his arms wrapped around her, laughing and enormously pregnant. There were other pictures, older and dog-eared. Those were of his paternal grandparents, Uncle Samuel as a boy, and various other family members. They all looked so serious.

A small vellum envelope located towards the back of the drawer gave the child hope.

Thinking the yellowed packet could possibly house a treasure map, Bill Adama eagerly opened it. Two golden rings slid out, one larger than the other. They were heavy and both of them were scratched with wear. Noticing a few more items inside, Bill carefully shook the remaining contents free.

 _More photos._

Dejected, Bill examined the images anyway, hoping they might include a clue to something bigger.

One sepia-toned picture was a group shot of a wedding party. Dati was all dressed up and standing next to the bride, a pretty dark-haired lady. Dati looked younger, and very happy.

Bill noted his father's very precise script, written on the backs of next three pictures. Being the smart little boy he was, and already a lover of books at such a tender age, Bill had no trouble reading the captions on each color shot.

 **Tamara** , was written on the photo of a willowy girl in her mid-teens. She had dark brown hair.

The next image was a boy of average build, with dark eyes and curling hair. He looked to be as tall as some of the older kids on their street, maybe about ten years or so. The name on the other side read: **William**.

This made Bill huff with interest, as that too was his name.

The last picture included the title **Our Family: Joseph, Shannon, Tamara, & Willie**. It featured the bride from the wedding shot, along with the two children already seen in the other two shots, and- Dati.

Bill arranged the four images neatly on the desk blotter, along with the gold rings, and stared at all the objects until his blue eyes grew dry. He didn't know why, but he felt something was majorly wrong with what he was seeing. It started to upset him, and he felt like crying... but big boys, even little bulls, didn't cry. That was the rule in the Adama house.

As if an unsaid prayer were answered, _she_ came into the room.

Tsattie. His most favorite person in all the worlds.

His grandmother Ruth entered the study in her usual brisk fashion. Initially, she had a tight look on her face, however it did not last long.

"You should not be here," she told him sternly. A rare and gentle smile, only reserved for him, belied her consternation.

"I know," Bill replied. The boy continued staring at the photos lying on the desk, and looked up only to compare them in his mind with the framed portraits on a nearby table.

Tsattie followed his gaze and understood perfectly, the child's confusion.

"I knew when the house grew quiet, that you were up to something." The old woman's face grew serious and slightly sad as she stood opposite him. "Your father must know what you've gotten into."

"No!"

"Yes."

"He'll be angry," Bill stated.

"At himself. Not you," Tsattie promised. She came around to join him behind the desk. She looked down at the photographs on the desk and smiled wistfully.

The woman looked like she was going to cry, something he'd never seen her do, and that scared him.

Bill clutched Ruth's hand. Tears brimmed on the dark fans of his eyelashes. "Are you mad at me, Tsattie?"

She smiled again, this time with outward joy. "No, my Little Bull. Never. You fill me with joy. Always. I could not love you any more if you were–"

A white sea tern fluttered outside the window, catching the woman's attention, and cut off her sentence. The mid of day was near upon them, and the view of the Caprican Ocean was as spectacular as ever. Waves crashed upon the beach, and the surrounding trees swayed lazily in the summer breeze.

Though Ruth often grumbled over Joseph's purchase of the land next door to the Graystones, she secretly adored the restorative powers of the Qualai beach community.

"Come," she ordered. "We will go down to the shore and search for the fishermen's glass floats. When we get tired of our little adventure, we'll come back home, and I'll make us some noodles for lunch."

"And then?"

"And then," Tsattie continued, "You will have a nap, like all good Tauron boys of your age."

Bill frowned at the last bit. His lower lip fixed into a position of deep hurt.

"Afterward, we will have Tiger brownies and milk."

At that, Ruth noted an uptick in her grandson's mood. A day of fun would be had for him. Every child deserved to know joy, as there was plenty of opportunity for sadness later in life.

Ruth pinched Bill's cheeks and watched happily as he dashed out of the room, headed for the terrace doors which would eventually lead to the path down to the beach. She knew he would wait for her, thus giving her time to place a much needed phone call.

# # #

When Bill Adama returned to his father's study, hours later, he found the man himself, waiting for him.

"Come in."

The child hesitated at the threshold, trying to gauge the tone and mood of his father's voice. Bill watched as Joe scratched at a yellow legal tablet, while simultaneously pouring over a client's case file.

"You know, contrary to popular opinion, I don't make dinner out of little children," the elder Adama commented lightly. He finished his notes, then put away his work and looked squarely at his son.

Bill entered the room fully, his bare feet were still sandy from his earlier outing at the beach. Thoughtfully he 'rounded his father's desk to stand before the man. "You don't?"

"No." Playfully, Joe swept the child up in his arms and made growling monster sounds. "Appetizers, yes! But dinner, never!"

Bill giggled loudly as his father kissed his cheeks and continued to pretend to be a fearsome, child-eating monster. "Dati!"

"Yes, my son?"

"Why aren't you always fun like this?"

Joe stopped swinging Bill around, and held him close. He was still happy, but his dark eyes were growing serious again. "Because I cannot allow it of myself."

"Why?"

The ages-old question on every child's lips. _Why?_

Joseph Adama regarded his son thoughtfully, then hoisted him onto his shoulders and carried him over to one of the ceiling-high bookshelves. He motioned for Bill to pull a large leather-bound volume from the collection, and together they adjourned to one of the two sofas in the center of the room.

"Ruth told me you were on a mission in here this morning."

Bill nodded. "I was searching for treasure."

Joe raised a dark eyebrow like the seasoned trial lawyer he was. "And what did you find?"

"Gold rings and some pictures in an envelope."

"You don't say!"

"Yes, Dati. Am I in trouble?"

Joe ruffled his son's unruly black hair. It was long, even by Caprican standards, hanging past his shoulders and curling slightly at the ends. "No- I am. With your mother. And worse yet, your _grandmother_."

The child puzzled at such a confession. Bill assumed his father answered to no one, but perhaps maybe the Law. And even then, he was not quite sure if that was even the case.

"There are things I've not told you."

Bill huffed quietly, feeling the weight and sadness of Joe's words upon him. "I'm sorry for making you cry, Dati."

Joe wiped away tears that he had not even been aware he'd been crying. "Not all tears are sad ones, Little Bull."

Silently, father and son turned the pages of the aged book. It was filled with more photos of the woman and children found in the secret drawer. Bill watched closely as Joe studied each image and seemed to be re-living the memories of the moments in time.

"Who are those kids, Dati?"

A sad smile bloomed on the man's face. "They are your sister and brother."

Bill nodded solemnly, trying to understand. As far as he knew, he was an only child. "Mami had more babies? Before me?"

Sensing his son's distress, Joe hugged him close, and turned to an earlier grouping of pages in the album.

"You see this lady, here?"

"Uh huh. She's pretty."

Again, Joseph Adama smiled. "Yeah. She sure was."

"Isn't she still?"

After a beat of silence, the elder Adama laughed openly. It was an unusual sound, but one that pleased the child seated next to him. "I'm not sure, son. But if such a possibility exists, I'm sure Shannon is indeed, still as beautiful as the day I first met her."

"Have _I_ ever met her?"

"No. She died before you were born." Joe flipped a few more pages, finding a larger version of the family portrait Bill had found earlier in the day. "You see, before I met your mother, and we had you, I had another family. My first wife- her name was Shannon. That's this lady here. We had two children together, a girl and a boy. Their names were Tamara and William."

"That's my name, too!" Bill interjected.

Joe chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, at the selfishness of naming his second son after his first. "Yes. And is that of your grandfather, as well."

"It's a good name."

 _Indeed._

Joe held his living son close, and continued telling his story as he turned the pages of the photo album.

"I'm sorry you never met your siblings, Bill. You would have liked them, and they would have adored you. But it was not meant to be. I lost Tamara and her mother in an accident. An explosion, set forth by some very bad people. The pain of losing them was unbearable. Because of that pain, I did some things I will regret forever."

Bill laid his head on his father's chest. "What kinds of things?"

Joseph Adama shook his head. "Someday I will tell you. When you'll understand better. Hopefully by then, I will too." He set the book aside, and leaned back against the pillows of the sofa as Bill continued to cling to him.

"I truly was a monster in those days. It drove me away from your brother, Willie. Thankfully, he had your uncle to be there for him. Sam was the father that I couldn't be, and when Willie was killed, we both grieved as such."

Talk of death and violence didn't faze young Bill Adama. He'd come from a legal family, and the fact that their family also had ties to the Ha'la'tha, didn't hurt either.

"I wish I could play with them," sighed the child.

"So do I."

Father and son sat in silence together, as the final rays of the setting sun faded on the horizon.

"Where's Mami?" Bill asked after some time. The women of the house were missing. Even Tsattie had left, once his father had arrived home.

"She's staying at the apartment in Caprica City tonight," Joe said of his wife. "She said you and I need to have this time together. To be bachelors for the night."

Bill looked at his feet, understanding his father's words and feared the worst. "Are you and her going to get a divorce?" the child asked flat out. He'd recently heard the word being uttered in hushed tones by his parents, and somehow, Bill knew it wasn't a good thing.

"I don't know."

"Do you love Mami? Like your first wife?"

"Do I love your mother?" Joseph Adama repeated the question, seeming to wonder himself. "Yes, son. I do. But no, it is not the same love as the one I had with Shannon." Seeing the beautiful blue eyes of his child darken with pain, he felt the need to clarify further. Reaching into his pocket, the man retrieved a shiny silver object. "You see this lighter?"

The child nodded.

"Your mother gave it to me. It means a lot to me, and I'm rarely without it. You could say it is a treasure of sorts," Joe explained. "Someday it will be yours."

"Cool!"

"Yeah, it _is_ cool. But you know what else your mother gave me?"

Bill dug his hands into his pockets and shrugged his wide shoulders.

"You." Joseph playfully poked his son in the tummy and proceeded to tickle him until the boy was pink from giggling. "You, Bill Adama, are my last child. My last baby. And my last shot at redemption for the things I've done. Fate is not going to grant me a third or fourth chance at being a parent, so that makes you more than special."

"Really?"

"Really," the man chuckled. "I love you, son, beyond words. Never doubt that. Ever. And because I love you, I will always have love for your mother. Just as I will always love my first family. Love differs with each person. You will learn that as you get older."

Satisfied for now, with such an answer, young Bill laid his head on his father's arm and watched as the Green Flash zipped across the line of the ocean.

Eventually, as kids his age are wont to do, his thoughts began to wander to other important matters. His tummy was starting to rumble for dinner, and he was feeling antsy while sitting on the big leather sofa.

"What's a bachelor? Is it like a bacchanalia?"

The elder Adama bit the inside of his cheek. Children. They were such joys. Joe knew in time his relationship with his son would not be like this. Tender moments would be replaced by words of hate and division, once the sins of the father were revealed. Both of them would have to hold onto these memories.

"Of sorts. A bachelor is a man without a mate. A bacchanalia, is oftentimes, where said bachelor goes to find said mate."

"Oh."

"So- what kind of girl are you going to bring me for a daughter-in-law?" Joe teased his youngest.

Bill screwed up his face in deep thought, then answered with authority. "A girl with red hair!"

"A red head? Hmmm. You know they're trouble, don't you?"

"Yeah, but so am I."

"That you are, Little Bull."

Over dinner, they would talk more of his lost siblings, Tamara and Willie. Dati would make him brush his teeth before bed. They would read his favorite book, Muffit's Really Big Adventure. Mami would return in the morning, and Tsattie would be there too- pouring coffee and cutting a pan of freshly baked baklava.

Whatever rift his parents had, would heal over time, but an unseen scar would remain. Eventually a new wound would open between Joe and Evelyn, and their family dynamic would change forever.

Such was life in the Adama household.


	2. Chapter 2: Big Sister

CAPRICA CITY

She hated hospitals.

She hated her parents.

And she hated being here.

While all three of those statements were not necessarily true, except for maybe the one about hospitals, it was how Laura Persephone Roslin felt.

At all of thirteen years, the girl skulked the long 6th Floor hallway of Caprica City General Hospital as slowly as possible. Her two-year-old sister, Sandra, meanwhile, traipsed merrily on-ahead with the mylar balloon she'd picked out in the downstairs gift shop, bobbling along.

A corner of young Laura's mouth turned up as she read the greeting caption written on the balloon:

SORRY ABOUT YOUR ACCIDENT!

Giggling openly for the first time since receiving life altering news earlier in the day, she had to hand it to her younger sibling. The kid had perfect taste. Sometimes life was wonderfully ironic.

"Daddy!"

 _Frak._ They'd reached the end of the line. Room 600.

Laura glared at little Sandy, the squealer, and then at one half of her main source of her sour mood.

Dr. Edward Roslin bent down to pick up his second child, despite a look of complete exhaustion on his face, and beamed with pride as he always did upon seeing one of his daughters.

He now had three.

Cheryl Hemera Roslin was born bright and early with the dawn, a month shy of her expected due date. The labor had been long and painful for her mother, but all was forgotten when the tiny pink cherub arrived on the scene. Such was the case with babies.

Laura couldn't believe it. Married nearly twenty years now, Ed & Judy Roslin were _still_ having sex.

It was so embarrassing. Why couldn't they be like most of her schoolmates' parents? Divorced, dried up, or simply not caring anymore about making sexy-time with each other.

As it was, her friends teased her mercilessly about her amorous parents. Once, they'd walked in on them 'doing it'. It had been a snow day, and school let out early due to the weather conditions. Laura had been unable to get in touch with her mom or her dad, so she made an executive decision and invited her pals Kati and Poppy home for popcorn and a movie. Instead, the three girls had been treated to the cornea searing sight of the elder Roslins' orgy for two, in front of a roaring fire in the living room.

Nine months later, Sandra Chione Roslin was born. A living, breathing, everyday reminder of the utter embarrassment of that single moment in time.

And now another baby.

At least Laura hadn't been witness to _her_ conception.

"Dad," Laura acknowledged flatly as she pushed into the anteroom of her mother's maternity suite.

"Hey, girl," replied Ed, without a trace of registry that his eldest child hated him. Being the academic that he was, Dr. Roslin's parental philosophy was that if one didn't make note of a minor issue, the hope was that it would not later fuel the fires of decent. "You're just in time. Mom's awake, and so is your new and littlest little sister."

"Great."

Ed put Sandy down so she could present Judy with her balloon gift, not to mention a million smothering kisses to the baby.

"Laura honey, I really want to thank you for breaking your slumber party to pick up your sister from Sephie's, and then come here this morning. We just really wanted to have all our girls together. I would've come to get you, but your mother needed me. And with your grandparents–"

"Wine-tasting on Leonis, yeah, I know." Laura waved her father off as she stared at her worn black and white sneakers. "It was no problem picking her up from Aunt Seraphina's. I doubt if any of her café staff will miss the little bugger. Sandra was on her third chocolate croissant when I got there."

"Huh. No wonder she smells so sweet."

"Yeah, an improvement of late, I'd say. Oh, and you owe Auntie a few cubits from her tip-jar. I kinda borrowed some to pay for our Mag-Lev fares to get here."

"Like how much?" Ed asked cautiously.

Laura fished into the pocket of her artfully torn jeans and produced a number of receipts. One for the Hydra Street station, and another for the hospital gift shop which included Sandy's balloon, and a single yellow rose which Laura held carefully in her hands.

Warmed by his eldest's tender gesture despite an outward attitude of indifference, Ed placed a kiss to the top of Laura's head. "You'll always be my best girl. I love you, Snicklefritz."

"I love you too, Daddy," she admitted quietly.

 _He knew._

At that moment, a tiny voice attempted to fill the room with music. Laura rolled her eyes and rounded the gentle curve of the frosted glass wall leading to her mother's bed.

Judith Roslin had never looked more beautiful. Or tired. But mostly beautiful. She was dressed in a shimmery gown of pink and lavender, and a beatific smile. She wore little makeup, not that she needed it, and her richly flame-colored hair flowed about her shoulders.

Sandra was doing her best to be a big girl, playing quietly at the foot of the bed with a small plush unicorn given to her by her mother in celebration of the occasion.

Baby Cheryl fussed and rooted at the opening of Judy's gown, eager to nurse. Her fuzzy red head was a match to that of her older sisters.

"Hi Mama," Laura uttered shyly. Her disgust at her mother was rapidly waning, the sight of such perfection having awed her completely. She remained fixed to the floor a few feet away from the tableau, afraid that she might ruin things if she joined in.

"Laura! Thank the Gods, you're here," Judy beaconed to her eldest. "Now our family is truly complete!"

"So say we all," agreed Ed from across the room. He was leaning on the glass room divider, looking handsome as always, with his prematurely graying hair and scruff of beard. He wore chinos and a polo shirt from Apollo University, where he taught botany, and well-loved, if not slightly stinky, leather sandals.

The focus seemingly no longer on the baby, Laura blushed with nerves and adjusted her eyeglasses. Glancing over her shoulder, she sought reassurance from her father who urged her gently to join her mother and sisters on the bed. With an audible hum, the young teen acquiesced and folded herself into the group.

"Whatcha think, honey?" Judy offered up a view of the baby, unwrapping her swaddling just a bit.

"She's pretty cute," Laura admitted with a swallow. "But she kinda looks more like a cherry than a Cheryl."

"Tauran Cherry Cake!" exclaimed Sandy loudly as she held aloft her new unicorn.

The adults laughed. Laura rolled her eyes. The little pill didn't understand that the treat in question was not made out of actual cherries as they all knew them on Caprica, but the curled red ferns grown on the tough, flowerless world once known as Taurus.

Judy smiled and nodded to Ed, noting their sunny middle daughter, and their eldest who was starting to glower once again.

"Come on, Poppet!" Edward Roslin clapped his hands and held out his arms to Sandra. "Let's go see if we can find Mommy some ice cream in the cafeteria. I think she needs some, don't you?"

Sandy cheered loudly in agreement, and jumped into her dad's waiting embrace.

Once the door to the hospital room closed, Judith again turned her attention to Laura.

"So, what do you _really_ think of your new sister?"

Laura bit her bottom lip.

"That bad, huh?"

Her mother was her best friend. There was no secret in that.

Everyone knew Laura worshiped her mother. Adored her father. For so long, it had been just the three of them. The Magic Three, they'd called themselves.

The initial arrival of Sandra had been a novelty to Laura, like that of the addition of a pet dog or cat to their little family. The expanded equation of Baby Cheryl had totally upset the fabric of her world.

"Why, Mom?"

Judy nodded. Her child was very much a Roslin. Straight and to the point, there was very little pretense to Laura. They'd raised her to be clear thinking, and honest. She was all that and more, and the woman could not have been more proud.

"I know you'll hate what I'm about to say..."

Laura crossed her arms and thinned her lips. "But I'll understand when I'm older. Right?"

"Something like that."

The girl sighed like only a teenager could. Her green eyes brimmed with tears, that out of stubborn will, refused to fall.

"Laura, your father and I could not love you any more if we tried. You mean more to us than all the worlds put together. We waited to have you until our teaching careers could afford it. I mean, thank the Gods for tenure! And then, when we did have you, it was like- here was this amazing little thing we created. Ed and I loved each other so much- and still do... but then there you were, and it was so much fun."

"Babies _are_ fun."

"That they are," agreed Judy. "They're also fun to _make_."

"Mom!"

The woman couldn't help but laugh. Her daughter was clearly mortified at such an admission.

They'd had The Talk on and off since well before Sandra had been born. Laura had always seemed to relate to both of her parents more as an adult rather than a child, but some things were still understandably embarrassing.

She'd been having her period for a year now. Laura knew how things worked, for the most part. On more than one occasion she'd even taken matters into her own hands, locking herself alone in her room and exploring things for herself. But aside from a ticklish feeling that went all the way down to her toes, and a funny smell, the girl didn't quite see what there was to get all that excited about sex.

"You'll understand someday," Judith Roslin continued. "A long time from now. Preferably after I'm dead," she joked.

"Don't say that!"

"Okay, I won't. Though I'd prefer you waited till at least college."

"Don't worry. I will," Laura promised.

Boys were okay. They were stupid most of the time, but they had their cute moments. Though she couldn't imagine wanting to spend the rest of her life with one, let alone want one to get her pregnant.

"There's my girl. My responsible Laura."

Mother and daughter embraced. And cried. Big, happy teardrops slid down matching faces and fell onto Baby Cheryl, who fussed anxiously at such a sudden intrusion.

Laura cupped her sister's head and kissed her till she gurgled. "It's okay Little One," Laura soothed. "We're cool. I'm not really mad at you. Or Sandra. Or Mom and Dad. I love all of you, so much."

Judy hummed at the sight. Her first born was becoming a fine young woman.

Laura removed her glasses and wiped the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes. "It's true, you know. You can always count on me, Mom."

"I know, honey."

"Good." Laura patted her mother's knee, then eyed her sister with complete and genuine enthusiasm. "Can I hold the baby, now? 'Cause I really, really want to! She's like, SO adorable!"

"Of course!" Judy smiled as Laura cradled Cheryl carefully in her arms, whispering soft words and kissing her fine hair. "You look like a natural, if ever I saw one."

The girl hummed at the thought, then giggled. "The only kids I want are students. Just like you and Dad."

Her daughter was set on being a teacher. For the time being, at least. Judith Roslin, however, was convinced Laura would do something far bigger in her enfolding life. Ed often teased her for having such a notion, saying it was the musings of a mother wanting more for her child than what she herself had.

As it was, she felt as though she had everything. It was only natural to want her child to have that as well.

"Well, whatever you do in the future, I want you to have this."

Laura looked up to find her mother holding out what looked to be a half-circle of silver metal. In reality, it was a delicate cuff bracelet with swirled black pearls on each end. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she'd ever seen, and certainly one that was more 'grown up' than all the pieces she owned, put together.

"I bought this when we found out you were inside me," Judy explained to her speechless daughter. "Of course, I didn't know you were going to be a girl, but I certainly hoped and prayed you would be."

Laura held out her left arm, so her mother could slip the cuff onto her wrist. "Well, you've got three girls now. We should buy two more for–"

"No," Judith Roslin stated, her voice firm with emotion. "This is for you, Laura. Just you. I waited until now to give it to you, because I'm so proud of who you are becoming. And I want you to always know that you are loved so very much. Just as much, if not more, than that first day you stole our hearts."

As her mother pinched the adult-sized cuff tighter to her thin wrist, Laura understood the meaning of her mother's gift. It was as though both of her parents' arms were surrounding her in their love, just as they always would. She would never part with such a gift, nor her love for them.

Later, Ed and Sandy, along with the child's plush unicorn- now named 'Greg', returned. With them, they brought heaping containers of every kind of ice cream the cafeteria had to offer, to be shared by all members of their now complete family.

Both parents exchanged knowing glances at each other as Laura and Sandra painted melted vanilla on Cheryl's rosebud of a mouth, giving their sister her first taste of sweetness.

Life was so very good.


	3. Chapter 3: Eager Recruit

COLONIAL FLEET HEADQUARTERS, PICON

The meeting was a formality, really.

William Adama's grades from the tony Caprica City prep school he'd attended were average, but a dozen or so letters of glowing recommendation from his instructors told the real story of his education. The young man was well up to the task of absorbing what he'd been taught by his elders- but he just didn't give a flying frak that anyone knew it.

The war with the Cylons had been raging throughout the Colonies for a decade. Each World had lost countless sons and daughters in the fight against the machines. The Fleet needed brave soldiers and eager pilots in the cockpits, all willing to take up the banner of freedom from threatening terror.

And Bill was just the sort they needed. Smart, ready, and full of kick-ass.

But why?

The man in charge of incoming cadets to the Academy, Major Carlos Ables, addressed the young man before him and motioned for him to sit in one of two chairs across from the tidy utilitarian desk.

"Your family–"

"With all due respect, Sir," Bill interrupted confidently. The move could get his butt kicked out the front gate, but the major seemed to like his attitude, and let him continue. "My family. My father, to be more precise, has nothing to do with my choice to enter the Colonial Academy."

Ables smirked. "Are you sure? Your _father_ , Joseph Adama, has gone to great lengths to try to prevent you from doing so."

Bill's jaw tightened. He'd fought his old man on the subject, to the point of near blows. Despite years of pushing him away, Joe Adama now had the temerity to try and pull strings to hold him close.

"We do not agree on many things, but now that I am no longer a minor, he has no hold over me. I'm free to make my choices, and this is what I want to do. What I _have_ to do."

"There are many other things a young man of your background could do. Roads to be taken in other directions."

"If I want to read books for the rest of my life, I'll do it when I'm old- and for pleasure. Not to study for a ridiculous argument to be made in court. I choose to fight my battles where it really counts. Where I'm truly needed. There are more than enough lawyers to go around."

The major nodded, then glanced down at the young man's file. "The Adama name has been linked to, well, let's be honest- the mafia. You could have chosen your uncle's line of work."

This time it was Bill's turn to smirk, in all of his wise-ass eighteen years of age. "You mean serving as an Enforcer?"

"A natural choice, I suppose."

"For a Tauron, you mean," Bill added with a huff.

Ables held up his hands and grinned in honest friendship. "No judgements here."

Bill studied the older man and felt the honesty of his words. "The Ha'la'tha doesn't need me."

"Who does?"

Bill Adama folded his hands and studied the framed photographs on the credenza behind Major Ables. Some were in color, some were in black and white- all were no doubt treasured glimpses of the man's past. Bill noted to himself that more than a few images were yellowed with age.

"Tell me, how many of those people are gone from this life?"

"More than I care to admit."

"Do you have kids, Sir?"

The major flashed a warm smile. "Yes, of course." Showing off an octagonal framed portrait of a boy and a girl, Ables boasted proudly, "Robert and Maggie- the lights of my life."

Bill met his superior's gaze, his eyes intent with emotion. "I had a sister and a brother. They died before I was born, so I never knew them. Had my sister lived, things might have been very different. For all of mankind."

Ables puzzled at such a statement, figuring the lad to be overly dramatic with youthful enthusiasm.

Swallowing deeply, Bill pushed down his emotions. Over the years, he'd learned the truth of his father's hand in the eventual rise of the Cylons. Joseph Adama's association with Daniel Graystone, and their shared grief over the loss of their respective daughters, had combined with unimaginable technology. They'd played at being the Gods, and created true terror in the process. Such knowledge of what he'd done, had eaten away at the elder Adama. It ripped him apart as a man- a father, and a husband. A part of Bill ached for Joe, for what he'd had and lost. Another part of him hated his father for letting it all happen. Frak, but he hated the man. So much in fact, he nearly spilled everything to the innocent major, of the Adama family's sordid past.

Family honor, and Tauron pride, however, won out in the end.

Deciding to take the secret to his grave, Bill continued with the words he'd planned the night before.

"I recently lost my grandmother. She wasn't actually mine by blood, but in all the other ways that count."

"I'm sorry, Son."

"Don't be. She had a long life. She knew sadness, yes. But also great happiness." Bill chuckled with obvious love at the thought of his Tsattie. "She said it came from me, but I don't know... frak, yeah- I mean, how could you not adore a guy like this?"

The officer shook his head, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Despite bad teeth and a face marked by acne, the kid was still pretty good looking- and had balls to spare. No doubt many a young Caprican girl's heart had been lost to such a character. Major Ables liked Bill Adama immensely, and knew he had what it would take to be one hell of a pilot.

"Before Ruth died, she told me we all have a destiny. Sir, I believe my destiny, for whatever its worth, is out there."

"Go on."

"Every one of the Colonies has been touched by this war, from bombings, to all out invasions by those overgrown toasters. Hospitals and schools destroyed on the outer worlds. A Gemenese temple burned to the ground. Children and old people have been viciously murdered. Innocent lives lost- and for why? The actions of a few. All in the name of a good life. A peaceful life. That's pretty messed up if you ask me!"

Ables nodded. "That it is."

"I lost my siblings due to the actions of a few, and that was horrible- but I know life goes on. But the scale of this war- it's just too big to sit on the sidelines and hope they get tired, because they won't. Meanwhile, more and more of our people die everyday. More and more babies, Sir! That can't happen anymore!"

"No, it cannot." Major Ables made a note in the young man's file. Soberly, he stood in stiff military fashion.

Bill followed in a like manner, adding a respectful salute.

"On behalf of the Fleet of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, I welcome you, William Joseph Adama, to the Academy. Good Hunting, Cadet."


	4. Chapter 4: Nursemaiden

CAPRICA CITY

"Laura, honey, you're getting too good at this," Judith Roslin noted from her sick bed.

Her oldest daughter remained focused on the task at hand, and never looked up when replying. "I've had lots of practice, Mom. I should be a pro by now."

"And you are."

Laura folded the soiled adult diaper and cleansing wipes as neatly as possible, before sealing them in a plastic zip bag. She wiped her brow with her forearm and faced her mother. "I didn't mean it like that," she stated honestly. "I was thinking of all the times I changed the girls' nappies when they were little."

"Yes, but changing a sweet baby or toddler is different than caring for your mother dying of cancer."

Twin sets of green eyes met each other.

Laura didn't have to be reminded of her mother's situation. She dealt with it on a daily basis, and no one- other than Judy herself, felt the pain and embarrassment of the indignities of the illness more sharply. The woman was right. Basic diaper rash had nothing on the sucking, open sores caused by radiation therapy. Baby spit up was a walk in the park, compared to the gut-wrenching convulsions brought on by doloxan. Little by little, her mother's body and spirit was being rotted away, and there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do about it.

"I don't care, Mom. I'd do anything for you. And it's easier this way, not to have Dad do it. Guys can't handle stuff like this."

"Neither can little girls," added Judy.

"I'm not a little girl anymore," Laura replied with a shrug.

"No, but you should be." Judith cupped her daughter's chin, and stared into the face that used to be her own. Currently it was frowning, but when it smiled softly, it was the most beautiful sight in all the worlds. "All I'm saying is that you should be out having fun. Being with your friends. Doing stuff."

Laura rolled her eyes. "I do stuff all the time. I have school, and–"

"My point exactly!" Judy interjected loudly, using a banked bit of her old self. "You need to get out and be young and free, Laura."

"I will," she promised. _Later_.

Both women were silent as Laura continued re-dressing her mother and tidying the bed area. A bright and pretty summer-weight quilt, added a happy touch to the room, and gave the Judith some much needed warmth to her all too thin frame.

The teenager left the room briefly, to wash her hands and splash some water on her face. She felt tired and older than her sixteen years. Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, Laura took a breath and forced a smile to her features. It was a lie, but a necessary one.

She could do this. She was Laura Roslin, daughter of Edward & Judith Roslin. She would put on a brave face and everything would be okay. Until it wasn't.

With a sigh, Laura pinched color back into her cheeks, and straightened her limp ponytail, before exiting the three piece bath she shared with her sisters. Along the way to return to her mother's bedside, the girl made a brief detour to her own bedroom to retrieve a bulky sack of newly purchased books.

"Daddy's been doing some research on this new treatment option, made from the Chamalla flower," Laura cheerfully explained as she entered the room. "The Saggitarons have been using it for years to treat all kinds of cancers–"

"And get high along the way," her mother added as Laura sat upon the bed, spilling out the bag from Libris Nouveau, their family's favorite bookstore. "Honey, I'm not taking something that is the key ingredient to a street drug like Purple."

Laura snorted sarcastically, without thinking. "No, you just like the 'medical' weed Daddy gets for you from the dealer on campus at AU."

Judy looked shocked at her daughter's teasing comeback, and was grateful to not be handled with such kid gloves. Especially by someone she adored so much.

"What? You didn't know that I knew the two of you smoked it sometimes? In addition to the prescribed brownies he bakes?" Laura playfully sassed. To which her mother stuck her pale tongue out at her in response. "What kind of daughter did you think you raised?"

"One that needs to get out more. Make new friends–"

"Mom!" Laura rolled her eyes again, exasperated at Judy's return to harping on her to have more fun.

"You need a boyfriend, Laura. How about that nice lad you know from the debate team. What was his name? The one who's into politics."

"Wally. Wally Grey."

"That's the one! Sweet guy. Very smart. Nice dresser."

Laura nodded at the description of one of her best friends at school. "Wally's a great guy," she replied while slipping beneath the bed covers to cuddle with her mother. "But he kinda likes boys better than girls. At least in the way you mean."

Judith Roslin's mouth formed an O of speechlessness, until both she and her daughter were giggling uncontrollably.

"I guess that won't be working out the way I'd hoped, will it?"

Laura wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "No. Not with Wally." She looked down at one of the books she'd bought earlier in the day, picked it up, and stroked it with a delicate hand. "You'll be happy to know I _did_ meet someone today. At the bookstore."

The older woman's mood and general health, continued to perk up. That made Laura feel better as well, to see her mother smiling like she used to.

"A boy?"

Shrugging with embarrassment, Laura grinned. "Yes."

"Spill."

"It's not like that. He was just very nice..."

"And he stole your heart," Judy playfully suggested. "Swept you off your feet."

Laura grew quiet as she mentally recalled the earlier events of the day. Avoiding eye-contact with her mother, she toyed with a tassel of a new bookmark, chosen to brighten the otherwise serious tomes. "Um, yeah."

"Oh my Gods, you're serious!"

"But he wasn't. That, I am sure of."

Judy thinned her mouth and gave her daughter a withering look.

Laura rolled her eyes. "He couldn't have liked me nearly as much as I liked him. He was too cute. Too mature. Too... everything."

"Honey- you're a beautiful young woman."

"Oh, so now I'm a woman! I thought earlier I was supposed to be a little girl."

Judy put her arms around Laura, and squeezed her in a hug as hard as she could. The child was going to be a formidable player on the worlds' stage someday. She could feel it.

"You know what I mean."

"I do." Sunlight glinted off the silver cuff bracelet given to her years before, reminding Laura of her mother's love for her.

"Then tell me of this handsome young man who charmed my oldest and prettiest daughter."

Again, the teenager blushed. "I don't know how handsome he was really. There was just something about him..." Laura smiled wistfully, remembering the moment they met. "I was reaching for a copy of **Chloris' Encyclopedia of Flowers for the Twelve Worlds** , and having some difficulty because it was up on a high shelf. And then before I knew it- this big hand is in front of me, grabbing that same book away."

"Aw!"

"I was _so_ pissed!"

"I bet."

"But then I turned around, and there was this guy... just standing there with the book. Grinning down at me. Like a moron."

"Like a creepy moron?"

"No. Like an adorably goofy, cute moron. With the bluest eyes ever. He claimed that he was buying the book for his father as a birthday present. An encyclopedia of flowers! For his dad! Can you imagine?"

"I hate to tell you sweetie, but _your_ father likes flowers."

Laura huffed. "Yeah, I kinda know that, Mom. But this guy- he was Tauran. And they're not into such things."

"Just pretty redheads," Judith suggested playfully.

"I wish." Laura grew quiet, thinking of the boy. Subtle happiness spread across her face. "Anyway, we went around and around, until finally he gave in and let me have the book. So, I bought him a coffee in the bookstore café. As a thank you."

"Of course."

"And we talked and talked..."

Judy patted Laura's knee. Smoothed her hair. "I hope you got his number."

The girl shook her head and resumed her attention to the book of flowers. "No, Mom. He's a fly-boy in the Colonial Fleet, and you know how they are. All about partying today and resigned to–"

"Death? It's okay. You can say it."

Laura flopped her body fully down on the bed, her eyes moistened with tears. She hugged the book to her chest, and couldn't help but notice that it still carried the guy's wonderful scent.

 _Fleet regulation soap and... spicy Tauron noodles?_

Judith rolled to her side, and spooned against her daughter. Laura gave a sobbing hum, and took her hand in her own.

"I don't ever want to lose someone I love."

"Neither do I," agreed Judy. "Did you get a name, at least? Something for your daydreams- which I know you have. So don't try to tell me you don't."

Time passed, but Laura did not answer. The two women both fell into companionable silence for the rest of the afternoon, with the younger Roslin eventually falling into an exhausted sleep in her mother's arms.

Deep in slumber, one thing was on Laura's lips and mind.

"... Husker."


	5. Chapter 5: Third Time's Charm?

PICON

"C'mon, Son. Let's let your mom sleep. Zak kept her up all night, and she needs her rest. We three men will go outside on the deck and smoke cigars."

"Dad!"

Major William Adama laughed warmly. "Okay, okay. You can have a juice box, and Zak can have a bottle, while I'll have all the cigars!"

"Dad!" the young and overly serious Lee chided his father. "Don't be like Uncle Saul– he's stinky!"

Again Bill laughed. A couple years shy of forty, he was still Viper-jock trim. He'd been clean shaven for a few years now, but he missed having the mustache he'd had when he worked the merchant fleet routes.

Perhaps he'd grow his whiskers once again...

With his infant son tucked in one arm, and their refreshments in hand, Bill ushered his elder son out onto the covered deck of their Colonial Fleet issued housing unit.

They sat in their respective chairs, and enjoyed the moment. Baby Zak blinked his newborn eyes- still a dark baby-eyed blue, not unlike like his daddy's, and drifted in an out of a dozing sleep. Carefully, Bill tucked a corner of the blanket he was swaddled in, over the child's eyes for protection from the brightness of the day.

Lee gabbed on about the imminent arrival in the coming week, of his maternal grandparents. Lee was named for Carol-Anne's father, who was a wealthy politico on Caprica. The man despised Bill, who was none too fond of him in return, but Bill made like he was anxious to see the POS and his country-club wife. Vivian had always been a nice-enough lady, and had her moments of sincere humanity.

At least she didn't insult Bill to his face, like her husband did. So there was that.

When Lee asked his father if he was going to give Grand Dad a ride in a Raptor, Bill nodded absently as he gazed off in the distance.

There wasn't much of a view from their deck– just the noisy airfield of the joint air-marine base, but it was a place to escape the increasingly cramped living quarters of the Viper pilot's young family. A tillium-scented breeze off the grassy plains that separated the base-proper, from the Officer's housing units, wafted towards them. The major inhaled the air deeply, before taking a swig of beer from the bottle in his free hand.

"Smell that, Son. That's the exhaust from a Mark V. Nothing's sweeter than that, in all the worlds!"

Before Lee could reply, the screen door to the deck slid open, and Carol-Anne joined her three boys.

"I seem to recall you said the same thing about me," she said lightly. "Back when we were dating."

The corner of Bill's mouth turned up in a sly smile. "Back when we were young and foolish? Yeah, I remember that as well."

His wife joined him in the chair to his left, plucking their youngest son from his arms along the way. Zak roused instantly in his mother's arms, and he cried in hunger.

"He doesn't like taking milk from the bottle," Bill noted.

Carol-Anne groaned playfully, as she parted the silky pink-flowered robe that had been a gift from Ellen Tigh, and allowed Zak to suckle from her discreetly exposed breast. "He likes titty, just like his Old Man."

Bill laughed, and his wife joined in.

He kissed her cheek, and she stole a swig of his beer from the bottle of Tauron import– saying that a bit of alcohol would help Zak to sleep better later.

The parents looked on at their two children. Zak was so tiny, and Lee was growing up so fast. Soon he would be starting Kindergarten before either of them knew it, and then they'd have to share him with the outside worlds.

"We make great kids," Bill commented as Lee crept into his lap. It was a feeling for him that even rivaled coming out of a launch tube in a screaming fast Viper.

"That we do," Carol-Anne agreed.

Bill took the beer from his wife, then downed the last swallow left. "Ya wanna make a go for a third? Maybe get that girl that we've been hoping for, after all?"

His wife rolled her eyes, as she nodded toward the airfield. "As you fly off for your next tour of duty? I don't think so. Ask me again in a few years, Husker. With my luck, you'd probably leave me with another boy!"


	6. Chapter 6: Please, Gods

CHAPTER 6

CAPRICA CITY

Laura Roslin always considered herself a patient person.

As a child she awaited the yearly celebrations of her birthday, Saturnalia, and other notable holidays, with incredible grace for someone so young.

During her teens, she was there whenever her mother needed her during the painful battle with cancer. Together they waited for doctor appointments, test results, and for the mere passages of time during Judith Roslin's various bouts of infection due to a weakened immune system.

Laura even waited for her mother to be buried, as Judith had passed during a particularly high religious season, when funerals were not permitted.

There were happy times, too, that required complete patience.

Like, waiting for her college acceptance letters– both hers, and that of her sisters, Sandra and Cheryl...

Putting up with her father, Edward's endless search for a perfect chili recipe– which resulted in Laura gaining five pounds as a result...

And then there was Sandra's daily flute practice...

And who could forget Cheryl's endless talk of her favorite soap operas, and the hunky heroes and sultry heroines that inhabited each storyline?

But as a mature Laura Roslin sat on the closed lid of her toilet in her en-suite Master Bedroom, and waited for the last minute of the past five to slowly tick by, she could barely contain the ball of nerves that tightened in the pit of her stomach.

She hoped that was all that was in there.

The timer on her phone chimed...

Finally.

Laura hesitated before she read the results of the little stick that she'd just peed on, minutes before. The hateful piece of plastic seemed to taunt her from the quartz counter top that it rested upon.

Either she was pregnant, or she wasn't– it was as simple as a plus or minus.

It went without saying that she loved babies and children.

But now, of all times to be pregnant... Laura shook her head at the notion.

Richard Adar had just been elected to his second term as the Mayor of Caprica City, and there was talk that he would win the Colonial presidency, if he chose to run in two years. His wife, Cynthia, was a pillar of envy– a business woman and humanitarian, and mother of their five children. Their oldest had just been named Prima of Libran's elite Ballet Nova, and their youngest was just starting high school.

Mayor Adar certainly didn't need the embarrassment of having fathered a Love Child with his Education Advisor, who was a former Kindergarten teacher no less!

And neither did Laura.

But things didn't always go as one hoped or prayed they would.

She knew that, all too well.

Laura picked up the test stick and stared at the cover that hid the results.

At least the potential baby had not been fathered by Sean Ellison... her former student from years past.

"Dodged a bullet there, Laura," she told herself aloud.

She sighed deeply.

If she was pregnant, then perhaps it was a sign... from the Gods.

Laura's mind spun with ideas. She'd gracefully retire from politics, saying that the life was not really for her after all. Which was true, as she hated the dance and back-biting and all of the deals. Leonis and Picon were reportedly good places to escape to, and also to raise children. She could live on her savings until the baby was old enough for her to return to teaching. Or she could do what she'd dreamed of doing for years... write.

Either way, they would survive. Laura had no doubt of that.

She and the child would have a good life. Boy or girl, she would love them with every fiber of her being– just as her own parents had of her and her sisters.

Laura would give him or her everything she had. A tidy sum of cubits from Edward Roslin's life insurance policy would ensure that her child's future schooling or health needs were secure. The baby would never even miss having a father.

Ms. Roslin hummed at that thought, as she opened the cover of the test stick.

 _Negative._

More than a few tears were shed upon reading the result.


	7. Chapter 7: Duty Calls

_**A/N: This chapter starts out a little spicy, but has a sweet tone for the most part. An adorable "Rodama" meme that features Bill on the phone with Laura, while in his bathroom, inspired this. In the meme, Bill tells Laura that he's just had some pancakes and brushed his teeth- then asks her if they're "Gonna start making them babies, or what?" I love that, and hope you love this chapter...**_

GALACTICA

He needed to slow down, and wait for her.

It would be better for them both.

But it wasn't easy.

He'd wanted her the minute he laid eyes on her, and hated himself for it. Thankfully, she didn't give him the time of day. Not that he would've admitted to wanting it.

Or her.

Rank and circumstance separated them. But then... one day... she asked.

Ever so politely, of course.

Her sounds became louder, and her nails- both on her fingers and her toes, dug into his back.

He could feel her go over the edge, and he dutifully followed soon after.

Spent, he rolled to his side as the tight rack space allowed. He used great care in doing so, as falling onto the floor with a thud would not look good on his performance record.

Sweat poured off them both, and it took several minutes for either one of them to catch their breath.

She placed a small hand to his heaving chest.

"Commander, that was... very sufficient. Thank you."

As tired as he was, William Adama couldn't help but smile at her enduring politeness.

"Anytime, Madam President."

Laura Roslin closed her eyes and appeared to be softly praying. Eventually a small snore came from her edge of the rack.

Bill watched carefully as the woman snoozed beside him. He was afraid to move and possibly disturb her. She was quite pretty– beautiful, in fact, when she wasn't fighting with him. And even then...

She awoke suddenly, turning towards him, her green eyes stared into his blue depths.

"I'm going to get us some water," he announced to her, covering his embarrassment of having watched her sleep.

"That would be nice. Thank you."

 _Again, with the politeness._

He picked up his clothes on the way to the head, where he took a few minutes to clean up a bit. When he emerged, he was dressed in his pants and tanks, and was still barefoot while carrying his duty jacket in one hand.

Bill deposited his jacket on his desk, where he retrieved a few things from a drawer before pouring their glasses of water from the carafe on his drink cart.

Roslin had scrunched herself down on the mattress, and her legs and feet rested on the alcove's rear bulkhead.

The sight made him chuckle without shame.

"What?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"You're actually taking this seriously, aren't you?" he countered rhetorically.

"Of course," Roslin replied. She eyed him with great interest as he sat on the edge of the mattress and faced her. The woman stared at the objects in his lap, as she drank her water thirstily.

"As do I," Bill cryptically told her. He drank half his water before placing the rounded highball glass on the small shelf at the head of the rack. "And I must say that your witch does, too. She called a meeting with me two weeks ago and gave me several detailed instructions, along with this voodoo of hers."

Roslin gently propped herself up on her elbows, and hummed. "My witch? You mean the Priest Elosha? She came to see you?"

"Yes. She told me that our president meant every word of her decree that we, the surviving members of Humanity, had to get the hell out of the Helios Delta System, and start having babies. She went even further to say, that since I had been chosen to literally help you do that, it was my job as your _Seed Bearer_ , to do all that was within the Scroll of Aphrodite to make that happen."

The president tried not to laugh, but failed.

"She did not!"

"Oh, but she did!"

"And here I initially just took this thing between us as a light-hearted attempt to boost morale for the fleet. To say that I stood with the people–"

"Or in your case, 'lay' with them," Bill corrected her.

Roslin rolled her eyes at his pun. "I thought it would be a good excuse for you and me to let out some of the tension between us, drink some Ambrosia, and frak each other's brains out."

Bill grinned at her accounting of their abbreviated courtship. "And that we did, Madam President. But now we've got more work to do."

The woman arched a brow. "Should I be worried?"

"Very."

The commander then proceeded to open the silk bag he held, and withdraw a vial of blue-green powder and what looked to be a very primitive jumbo-sized crayon. A small piece of rolled parchment was the last thing to come out.

Methodically, Bill emptied the vial into his own glass of water and swirled the contents around. He read a line from the parchment, over the glass of teal colored water, and then drank a bit of it. It tasted foul, and made him wince. Again, he recited the words and took another sip– but then spat the liquid back into the glass.

Roslin cringed as he repeated the action two more times.

And then he handed the glass to her, and smiled.

"What now?" she asked warily

"Drink," he ordered.

"But you just spat that out of your mouth. That's worse than double dipping chips and salsa at a party!"

That made him laugh. "The instructions say that my DNA must be inside of you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I think that your DNA is already well inside of me." To prove her point, she motioned to her raised legs on the bulkhead. "Your swimmers are not going anywhere but the intended target."

"Good," he noted with a huff. "But Aphrodite says that my cells must work their way inside you in other ways so that your body is able to be accepting of my Seed, and not reject it."

"You don't really believe that. You're an Atheist."

"True. But you believe, so I'm just following the orders of my president to knock you up."

Roslin took the glass of teal spit, downed the contents and collapsed onto the mattress.

"Good Girl."

"I shudder to think what you're going to do with that," she said of the waxy-looking crayon.

Again, Bill chanted a few lines from the parchment, while rolling the item between his wide palms. By the time he touched her naked skin with it, the crayon was as warm as his own hands.

Roslin watched silently in awe as he drew a line from her apex, to the flat of her abdomen. He chanted in a low, guttural tone deep from within himself, and used great care in drawing a spiraling circle around her navel.

Once his task was completed, he blew the warmth of his breath onto her belly, and then kissed it softly.

"There," he said finally as his gaze met hers. "I've done what you've asked, and what the Scroll said. I've given you my Seed, spoken the Words, drawn the Circle, and given our potential progeny my Breath. I've done all that I can do."

Bill then pulled on his boots, and silently rose from his position on the edge of the rack. He finished dressing, by pulling on his jacket and securing the buttons into place.

"Thank you, Commander."

"Of course, Madam President."

"You're very good at following ritual."

"I'm Tauran," he explained simply. "We're not very religious, but tradition is everything."

"You wear it well," Roslin said as she grinned up at him from her prone position in his rack. "You also have a bit of crayon on your face," she added, while trying not to giggle.

When he tried unsuccessfully to wipe it off, she motioned for him to join her, and she proceeded to rub it away.

They ended up kissing, and he was just about to join her in the rack again, when suddenly the comm rang–

# # #

Standing in the CIC, Commander Adama walked around the situation table and wearily faced his XO.

"Had that dream again, didya?" snickered Col. Saul Tigh.

"Yep," Bill replied sheepishly. "Jaffee must think I'm revisiting my adolescence, what with having to change my sheets so often."

"Tell me– did she ride you like a prized stallion this time, or was she wielding a ruler like the schoolteacher she used to be?"

"None of your damn business!"

Tigh continued to snicker, and even hooted for good measure, at his friend.

"Sir, Colonial One is on the wireless," Petty-Officer Anastasia Dualla informed her commanding officer. "The president wants to speak with you."

Bill sighed as he picked up the outdated receiver. "Patch her through, Dee."

"Yes, Sir."

President Roslin's voice came on the line. "I have good news, Commander!"

"Yes, Madam President?" Bill asked with a sigh.

There was a pause on the line. "Are you alright? You sound tired," she noted.

"I am."

"We all are, Commander."

"So say we all."

"Indeed." Roslin cleared her throat, then cheerfully announced, "I called to inform you that my suggestion to the fleet is working. Doctor Cottle announced just minutes ago that we're having twins!"

At that bit of news, Commander William Joseph Adama passed out stone cold onto the floor of his warship's command center.

His XO picked up the comm and informed the president of what had happened.

"Thank you, Colonel," Roslin clipped cooly on the other end of the comm. "When the commander wakes up, please let him know that the young couple from the Oddessy is planning on naming their future son and daughter, Adam and Rose."

Tigh looked down at his sleeping friend, and replied to the leader with mock sincerity, "Oh he's just gonna love hearing that, Madam President."


	8. Chapter 8: Just Keep Breathing

KOBOL

They'd been hiking for days.

Laura climbed upward through the dense grass and foliage, trying at all costs to avoid the sliding mud due to the ever present misting rain.

She had watched with combined awe and revulsion as the Eight led their group in the quest for the Tomb of Athena. It never seemed to tire, and always forged ahead with boundless energy.

Not even its pony-tailed hair drooped amidst all the wet weather– a fact that could not be said for Lt. Thrace and herself. Laura felt like a drowned rat, and assumed she looked like one as well!

She gave a side-look to Commander Adama, who hiked alongside her. His own hair still looked great in the rain...

Perhaps he too, was a Cylon after all.

Laura was about to tease him about that, when suddenly the Eight halted its progress, and their entire band followed suit. Lt. Agathon, the father of the Cylon's unborn-baby whispered his questioning concern to her, then told everyone that Sharon needed to rest a bit.

It was a fact that Laura was secretly grateful for.

While Adama spoke with his son and Starbuck, Laura checked on her own surrogate child, her aide Billy Keikeya, who was noticeably winded from their mountain trek. Bravely, he waved her off– not wanting to look bad opposite the military types, namely Captain Lee Adama, who was his rival for the affections of Anastasia Dualla.

The deposed-president couldn't help but notice the Eight dry-heaving in the bushes.

Without thinking, Laura went to her.

"I'm okay," it told Laura. "I thought I was done with morning sickness, but apparently not."

"It can continue all the way to the end, in some cases."

"You have kids?"

A stab of pain tore at Laura's heart, just as it had with Commander Adama when he'd confronted the Eight himself.

"No," she told the machine flatly. "But one of my sisters was pregnant once, and she had morning sickness well into her second trimester."

"I bet she ate a lot of soda crackers."

Laura hummed at the memory. He father had teased Sandra that he was going to buy stock in a cracker company if she ate anymore. "We all thought she was having a girl, as the saying goes that girls are harder on their mothers in the womb than boys are, but then her ultrasound revealed she was having a boy. It was quite a surprise."

The Eight smiled genuinely. "I'm having a girl. I'm sure of it."

Laura wanted to not smile in return, but did so anyway, despite her hatred of the Machine. "How do you know?"

The Eight who called itself Sharon, looked toward Lt. Agathon and smiled again. "I just do, you know? But I just wish I could get this frakking queasy feeling under control."

Laura knew the feeling all-too well. But not because she had a growing baby in her belly, but because she could feel her cancer spreading and taking root in the rest of her body.

"Deep cleansing breaths," Ms. Roslin said aloud. To the Eight, as well as herself.

"Like in childbirth?"

"Yes."

The Eight followed Laura's suggestion, and admitted to feeling better enough to resume their quest.

Laura took a few breaths for herself...

In... and out...

In... and out...

In... and out...

Commander Adama offered his arm to Laura for support as they trudged ahead. He looked a little tired himself.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Laura replied bravely.

It seemed that there were a great many similarities to pregnancy and dying. They were both the beginning, end, and beginning-again of a thing called life.

And along the way, you just had to take things in rhythm...

One breath at a time.


	9. Chapter 9: Gone Too Soon

_**A/N: This chapter takes place at the tail end of the Season 2 episode, "Sacrifice." The first part contains content between Bill & Laura, from that episode. What follows after the first group of hashtags is what I think should have happened next. This is rather weepy, so please be advised, and maybe give our favorite couple a hug at the end...**_

GALACTICA MORGUE

Bill was staring at the body of the Eight/Sharon Valeri, when Laura walked into the cold storage room of the ship's morgue, which was located to the rear of Sick Bay. Billy Keikeya's body was on a nearby gurney.

"Is this what you gave them?"

"It was a calculated risk."

"It wasn't worth it."

Bill had no comeback, as Laura went to her former aide.

She pulled up a stool and sat with Keikeya. She began to mouth a prayer over his lifeless body, but then her emotions began to overtake her, and she had to reach for a wall to brace herself. Once she was back in check, Laura shakily traced the sign of Aries on Billy's forehead.

"That's better," she said quietly while tearing up, and choking back sobs.

Bill continued to stare down at the Eight as Laura stood, and regarded him once more.

"He was so young," the president said of her aide, then exited the room quickly.

# # #

The admiral continued to stare down at the body of Sharon Valeri. He sighed deeply, then rose and told the Cylon, "Goodbye," before sliding its body back into the vault and shutting the door.

Before leaving the room, Bill stood at the foot of the aide's body and repeated words that he once had said at his own son's funeral. An oath to gods that he didn't even believe in, but said anyway because it was the right thing to do. Keikeya was a fellow Atheist, but had ended up joining him in finding Laura on Kobol, and somehow Bill felt that the young man would have appreciated the words having been said for him.

Leaving the Cold-Storage, Bill found Laura sitting on the floor of the outer room of the Morgue. It was where all of the messy work was done, where there were tools and overhead lights and various sources of running water. No one wanted to be caught in such a room.

And yet, there she was.

Bill went to her, finally.

"Don't touch me," Laura bit back sharply, as Bill dropped to his knees beside her and attempted to be of comfort.

He didn't listen, and pulled Laura into his arms anyway.

She fought him, first by pounding the strength of his back with her fists, and then by trying to push him away with her legs. Anything to be rid of his presence.

But he held firm, and let her continue to rage.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Laura, and say that it's gonna be okay. Because, we both know that it never will be."

His words stilled her crying.

"No, it's not," Laura agreed as she laid her head against his shoulder. The jacket of his duty blue uniform was soaked in one spot from her tears. He smelled like wet wool, and it made her laugh a tiny bit.

Bill didn't know why, but he laughed in reply.

They both faced each other.

"He was a good kid," Laura stated with a nod.

"Among the very best," Bill added. "He loved you very much."

"And I love him."

Not knowing what else to say, Bill kissed Laura softly. It was not unlike their first kiss when she'd made him an admiral, gentle and with hopeful love.

Laura remembered the moment, and it made her think of Billy in a happier light. He'd been so embarrassed at the time, to have witnessed such an exchange between his boss and the new admiral. But recently, the young man had confided to Laura that he was also quite honored to have seen her so happy. Dee had made him feel that way himself, and he had _so_ wanted her to feel that way in return.

"I sent Billy to Cloud Nine. He didn't need to go, but I told him to go and be with his friends... to get stupid drunk and forget everything for a night... I–"

"Don't blame yourself, Laura," Bill cut in.

"Then who? Dee, for breaking his heart? Your son, for being the one she loves instead? Ellen Frakking Tigh, for being the absolute wrong place at the wrong time?"

Bill huffed. "No, blame me."

"Okay," Laura replied quickly.

The admiral gave her a sideways glance as he shifted himself better on the hard floor, to sit next to the president as she sat against a bulkhead.

Bill held one of Laura's hands in his, and gave it a squeeze.

"You're right. I am getting to close to Shar– I mean, the Eight. Whenever I talk with it, it feels like she's the rook pilot that I once knew. I was proud of how she'd grown, taking to her duties as a Raptor jock, and now... this Sharon is a fully mature woman... she-it loves Helo... and now they're having a child."

"Bill," Laura warned him with an exasperated sigh.

"I know. But the other day when we were talking, Sharon said she felt the baby kicking. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch her belly, but I didn't."

Laura groaned.

Admiral William Joseph Adama. Famous for his rousing speeches, and his soft touch.

"I know," he intoned again.

"Good."

COLONIAL ONE

Three days later...

After waiting the allotted time in accordance with the Scrolls, in which the soul of the one who has passed exits the body, a small Secular service was held for William Paul Keikeya aboard the ship that he called home.

The Admiral of the Colonial Fleet had wanted to do something more grand aboard the Galactica, but the President of the Twelve Colonies had said no. Her aide/adopted son would not have wanted such a fuss.

And Bill respected Laura's wishes.

He also told her, very quietly, after the service was over and the attendees were milling about and talking over refreshments, that he had personally air-locked the body of the Eight known as Sharon Valeri earlier that morning.

"Thank you."

"It was a task that was well over-due."

In Bill's comforting embrace, Laura couldn't have agreed more.


	10. Chapter 10: System Re-Boot

GALACTICA SICKBAY

Laura sat on the cold exam table and tried not to recall the various visits she'd made to this very cubicle, or one just like it, when she was dying of cancer. She had vowed earlier in the day to not be nervous, but that was easier said than done.

Something new was going on with her body.

At first it was just mood swings...

Then came the bloating...

And finally, light spotting...

Shortly after Billy's death at the hands of the domestic terrorists on Cloud 9, Laura woke up one morning to the unmistakable feeling of cramping in her lower abdomen and back.

 _Surely, not_ , she told herself...

But then the proof was suddenly before her eyes, when she visited the bathroom a few minutes later.

Her menstrual cycle was back, in full force.

It was quite embarrassing having to go to her new presidential aide, Tory Foster, to ask her if she had any _supplies_ that she could use. Laura barely knew the woman, and felt rather odd having to ask her for such a personal favor.

For once, Laura was glad Billy had not lived to be part of such a request!

Thankfully, after a brief look of incredulousness, Miss Foster nodded to her new boss and produced the needed items from her hoarded stash, with what would be her later trademark of discreet efficiency.

Dr. Sherman Cottle entered the cubicle suddenly, and roused Laura out of her remembered musings.

"Lady, you just keep getting weirder by the day!"

Laura noted that he carried her rather thick medical chart, and he was smoking– which was a good sign...

A non-smoking Cottle always meant things were bad. Really bad.

"From you, I'll take that as a complement," Laura told him.

Cottle winked at her, then opened her chart to read the results of the latest round of tests he'd performed.

"Well, everything here is normal. Your blood work is fine, with no signs of cancer. And your hormone levels are right where they should be... that is, if you were a Young Lady in her mid-thirties– and not a woman well into her–"

"Yes, Doctor, I see," Laura cut in sharply. "But why is this happening now? I was pre-menopausal before my cancer diagnosis, then after the Colonies fell, my cycle stopped completely."

"Search me... I'm just a ship-board doctor, not a Gyno... Mother Nature is frakked up that way. But my best guess is that the Hybrid's stem cells have something to do with it. They re-booted your Womanhood, so-to-speak."

Laura sighed deeply. "Oh Gods."

"Uh-huh," Cottle puffed his cigarette in agreement and closed her file.

"What now?"

The doctor rolled his eyes at his favorite patient.

"I can get you some tampons or pads, or whatever we got in storage. The rest of the ships in the fleet are in short supply and are gettin' creative– if you know what I mean. But we've always made sure to have a ton of the stuff on-board, at all-times, in the past- what with all the women our the ranks. Seems only right that they now share some with the President of the Colonies."

"Thank you, Sherman."

"Anytime, Laura."

As the president hopped off the exam table and prepared to re-dress in one of the three suits she had to her name, the doctor halted her actions.

"So this means that you and your boyfriend have gotta be careful," he told her.

Laura stared at Cottle blankly.

"You know– the Admiral. A guy this tall, wears glasses, has bad teeth and an even worse complexion..."

"William Adama is not my boyfriend."

Cottle chuckled.

"He's not," Laura stated over-emphatically. "Besides, I don't even have the time to date, much less, you know..."

"Good, then there's no risk of you getting pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

Cottle took a drag from his cigarette, held the smoke in his lungs for a few seconds, and then blew it in Laura's face.

"Yep," he chuckled while enjoying the look in his favorite patient's eyes. "'Cuz that's what your body wants to do now. And I've just gotta say that with your history, a pregnancy is the last thing you need on your plate. Aside from the obvious outcome of a baby, you could also be at risk for your cancer returning. Breast Cancer is often-times triggered by the hormones a woman produced during gestation. So, don't even entertain the idea of gettin' a bouncing baby Tauron in your belly. Got it?"

Laura paled, then hummed in affirmation.

"Any other questions?"

"Ummm, besides the tampons, do you also have a supply of–"

Cottle cut her off with a full-on laugh. "Prophylactics? Rubbers? Raincoats? Dare I say the word... _Condoms_?"

"Yes."

The doctor continued to laugh. "Nope. There's a major run on those in the fleet, as you can imagine. So, you and Bill will just have to be careful and use the Rhythm Method."

"Bill and I are _not_ lovers," Laura stated once again.

Cottle grinned and prepared to finally exit the cubicle, but had one more thing to say to his huffy patient.

"Thank the Gods for that... and you can tell Ishay such, on your way out! Damned woman has been _'shipping_ you and the admiral for months. Ever since Kobol, the two of you are all she talks about... how she thinks you've been _hooking up_ when no one's lookin'... I'm just glad it's not true. Maybe now she'll shut up about it all!"


	11. Chapter 11: Thank You

_**A/N: This takes place durine the Season 2 episode, "Downloaded". As I recall, when the next episode, "Lay Down Your Burdens Pt. 1, aired they showed a shot in the recap of Laura in this situation, but it never was shown in "Downloaded". A really great picture is even printed in the episode guide books. Anyway,here's my take on what happened. Things get quite angsty, but I promise some fun dished up by Doc Cottle & Bill, in Chapter 12!  
**_

GALACTICA SICKBAY

She had to see it for herself.

To say, _thank you..._

And, _I'm sorry..._

Laura Roslin quietly slipped into the tiny make-shift NICU in the Galactica's hospital ward. It was there that she saw the clear incubator that held the premature newborn Hybrid baby of Lt. Karl Agathon and the Eight known as Sharon.

The president neared the child with reverence. When she'd first found out about its existence while en-utero, Laura had wanted to terminate it. But then its blood saved her life, and she didn't know what to believe.

Laura reached into the acrylic box, beyond the tubes and wires, to touch the baby's tiny hand. Her skin was so soft and pink and delicate.

"Hera," Laura intoned, using the name that the parents had given the child. "You truly are a gift from the Gods."

The president felt the building weight of guilt for what she was about to do.

Placing the child with another woman to raise it was the right thing.

A member of the Colonial Fleet could not be father to a half-human/half-cylon baby, much less make a family with its mother who was part of a race of machines that was bent on killing the surviving members of Humanity. Such a thing wasn't possible.

It would tear up their society, such as it was. Terrorists within the fleet had tried to do just that.

And then there were the Cylons who wanted the child at all costs.

Hera moved within the incubator, and mewed with need. Laura roused from her troubled thoughts, and couldn't help but wonder if the child was afraid.

Because she afraid herself...

And then there was warmth behind her.

"It looks so... normal."

Laura smiled at the admiral's words.

"But tiny," she added.

"Babies usually are," Bill stated. "But this one came too early. I just saw Helo and Sharon, and they're convinced their daughter will make it. Cottle says things could go either way, at this point."

Laura hummed and faced him. She couldn't look at the child anymore. It hurt too much. Not that it didn't hurt to look at the man before her, as the guilt she had was tremendously great already.

 _Hopefully he will forgive me someday_ , Laura thought to herself.

"I know you have meetings here on Galactica, but I was wondering if you'd be free for dinner tonight?"

She knew that Bill's askance was an attempt to lighten both of their melancholy.

But it only increased hers inwardly.

"Yes, that would be nice," Laura half-lied. She genuinely wanted to spend the evening with him, but knew that come morning things were about to change dramatically.

By then the Hybrid's parents would be dealt a crushing blow.

Bill would feel the pain equally and possibly recall the loss of his own son, Zak.

And Hera would have a new mother, a new name, and hopefully a new life of normalcy...

For whatever that was worth these days.


	12. Chapter 12: Exam Time

_**A/N: This takes place somewhere after Gaius Baltar's election, in Lay Down Your Burdens 2, at the end of Season 2. As Laura got worked over by Cottle in Chapter 10, Bill gets similar treatment here... poor guy. It works for the story timeline, and as it's been said- one can never have too much of the good doctor!**_

GALACTICA SICKBAY

Due to the burgeoning settlement of New Caprica, and a number of the ship's crew members mustering out, including Major Sherman Cottle, the Glactica's yearly physical exams were happening ahead of schedule.

"It's been almost a year since you were shot," the chief medical officer told the admiral. "How do you feel?"

William Adama considered Cottle's question as he hoisted himself on the exam table. He'd removed the jacket of his duty uniform, and sat in his tanks and pants.

"Back to normal," Bill said decisively as he stared down at his booted feet. He rubbed at his thighs with slight unease, as he didn't like taking part in this annual event. No one did. Such visits with a doctor, no matter how well they were liked, always felt like a glaring reminder of one's weaknesses and shortcomings.

"Good, good," Cottle said as he nodded absently while pressing the business end of his stethoscope to his patient's chest to listen to his heart and lungs. "Good– it all sounds good on this end."

Bill exhaled audibly. "Great."

"Did ya hear? The Tyrols are havin' a kid already?"

"Yep."

"You know she got knocked up before they got married?"

Bill laughed inwardly as the doctor attempted to distract his nerves while taking his blood pressure. It was a pretty cagey move on the major's part, but the admiral also knew that the man was a secret gossip when it came to matters that were less than life-or-death.

"It happens," Bill replied with a shrug.

His own son Lee, had been the instigator of his marriage to Carol-Anne. Lee had been a surprise to them both, as neither he, nor 'Anne, had been that serious about each other at the time. Pressure from both sets of their parents, however, had convinced them otherwise.

"Chief's a stand-up guy," Cottle declared. "And Cally was born to mother."

"She surely takes care of the flight crew," Bill noted.

The doctor declared that the admiral's blood pressure was in the normal range, while noting a few things in his chart. He also said that the lab work that Layne Ishay had run earlier in the week on the admiral had come back clean.

Secretly, Cottle was very proud of his medic, who was going to remain aboard the Galactica to serve the remaining military and crew members. The young woman had come so far in meeting the needs of those in the ward, and was practically a doctor herself. Ishay had more than her fair share of **O** n The **J** ob **T** raining, had great instincts and even a greater bed-side manner. Not that the crusty major would have ever admitted such facts publicly, of course.

"Your cholesterol and glucose levels are steady. Nothing to worry about there," Cottle assured his patient.

Bill rubbed his hands together in relief, as hypertension and diabetes ran on both sides of his family tree.

Cottle lit a cigarette and faced him with the next round of questions.

"You gettin' exercise? Drinkin' plenty of water? Sleepin' enough?"

"As much as I can."

"Just do your best."

"I'm trying."

Cottle wordlessly eyed Bill's gut, but said nothing.

 _Those who live in glass houses should never throw stones..._

"Anything on your mind?" Cottle took a deep drag of his cigarette and narrowed his eyes at his patient.

Bill felt the temperature of the cubicle increase by several degrees.

"Uh..."

"Been checking your nuts and pecs, regularly? You know, guys can get cancer in both areas."

The admiral wanted to airlock the major. "Everything's fine there!"

"Great!" Cottle replied with overt cheerfulness, then asked, "How's your pecker?"

Forget the airlock, Bill wanted to choke Cottle.

The doctor tossed his cigarette into a nearby steel kidney dish and grinned. "You wanna know if you can put it to good use, what with your heart and all. Am I right?"

The admiral crossed his arms and looked at the floor before regarding his interrogator.

"Yeah."

Cottle lit up another smoke, while enjoying the moment. He looked at Bill's file and nodded. "Can you go up a flight of stairs without pain or getting winded?"

Bill grunted in affirmation.

"Do you get a hard-on when you think of our former president? Adar or Roslin, you take your pick..."

" _Roslin_ ," Bill confided with a nod.

"Good, b'cuz Adar was a moron!"

Both men laughed at that.

Finally, Cottle grew serious and faced his superior, who was also his friend.

"You're fine, Buddy. You won't disappoint, or die on her."

Bill sighed with relief, then jumped off the table and started to put on his jacket. The doctor, however, halted his actions.

"Hold up there, Old Man. We've got one more thing in the exam to go over, so drop your pants and drawers, and assume the position. If you're a really good patient, I'll give you something way better than a lolly-pop."

Begrudgingly, Bill undid his belt while eyeing the evil doctor.

"And what's that?"

Cottle chuckled and snapped on a pair of latex exam gloves, as the admiral bent over the exam table.

"Same thing all the all the pilots, marines, and crew members are getting before they go planet-side. One extra-strength, Colonial Fleet-issue condom..."

Bill could've cried, but he was already in a vulnerable enough position.

So, he didn't.


	13. Chapter 13: She Just Can't Help Herself

NEW CAPRICA

She'd only been gone a few minutes...

Ten at the most...

It was more like five, really.

The infant's cries had been audible from clear down the dusty street on the encampment, but then as Laura Roslin neared her schoolhouse tent, the shrieking stopped.

And the teacher's heart nearly did so, as well...

Anxiously, she ducked between the canvas flaps that served as her classroom's door...

And then she saw him.

His uniformed back was to her, and in his arms was the child named Isis. The Human-Cylon hybrid. The former Hera Agathon.

Again, Laura's heart skipped a beat or two.

Sensing her there, Admiral William Adama turned to face her, and then smiled warmly.

"Hey'ya, Teach!"

"Bill..."

The admiral adjusted the bottle the baby was suckling on. He whispered something to the little one in _Tauran_ , then said to Laura in _Colonial Standard_ , "I know you believe in early child education, but seriously..."

Ms Roslin closed the gap between them. She kissed Bill warmly on the cheek and casually checked to make sure that the child was feeding properly.

And she was...

Bill Adama was a father, after-all, a fact that Laura knew. She just wasn't as aware of the fact that he was as good at it as he was. Or looked so good while doing it, too.

Another notion began to stir inside her...

"She's the daughter of my teaching aide, Maya," Laura explained while getting back to reality.

"Who's invisible, apparently," Bill teased.

Laura rolled her eyes. "The girl came down with a sudden bout of stomach flu," she explained. "Or food poisoning. Cottle isn't sure, so he wants to keep her at the hospital tent overnight for observation, and to make sure that Isis doesn't get sick as well."

Bill took the bottle of formula from the baby, eyed it warily, and then set it on Laura's nearby desk.

"Does that happen often, here?" he asked. "Viruses or food-borne illnesses?"

Laura shrugged wearily. "Shit happens."

He would've laughed at her explanation, had his heart not broken. Bill hated the thought of Laura living amid such conditions. The woman never complained, and that crushed him even more. Laura Roslin was by far the strongest person he'd ever known, but he worried deeply that her resolve was beginning to ebb, and that she was giving in to the bleakness of Baltar's Folly.

But then she smiled, and all was well...

"So how did I get so lucky to receive such a visit from the Admiral of the Colonial Fleet?"

"I was here to see His Honor, but I since find that I've been temporarily grounded. Dust in the Raptor's engines. Gonna take awhile to clean it all out... days, maybe."

Laura hummed at Bill's scenario. "Do you have a place to stay?"

He grinned while placing a gentle kiss to Isis' head. "Not yet."

"Well, you always have a place in my bed," Laura whispered huskily as the baby began to nod off in Bill's arms.

They both laughed, then kissed over the sleeping child.

"We're going to have to babysit this little sweetie. I hope that's okay. Tory and babies don't mix, besides I think she has a date with Brendan Costanza– of all people."

Bill huffed at the picture. "Hot Dog sure gets around," he said of his lieutenant, and Viper pilot.

Laura giggled. "He actually propositioned me once, the last time he was down here."

"Cocky little bastard, going after the Admiral's woman."

"Indeed."

The sound of the coming class of schoolchildren could be heard coming down the street. Little voices that were excited for the day. Older kids gossiping about others they knew. The unmistakable smell of bubble gum and cheap teenage cologne wafted in on the wind.

Youth...

Innocence...

Joy...

"Why don't I take the baby and head back to your tent? I bought some groceries in the marketplace earlier, and plan to make dinner for us. The kid'll be my helper, and we'll have things well under control before you get home."

Before Laura could protest, Bill set Isis in her bassinet, put her bag of baby gear over his shoulder, and then hoisted the bassinet and Isis herself, into his arms.

He was dodging incoming students and on his way out of the tent, before Laura could even protest.

Parenthood looked frakking good on Bill Adama...

Cottle had warned her...

Laura knew that she shouldn't even entertain the thought...

And yet, she just couldn't help herself.


	14. Chapter 14: The Curse

NEW CAPRICA

The Admiral was more than ready for his planned three days of Shore Leave.

He'd arrived on-world later than he would have liked, but an impromptu meeting with the commander of the Pegasus, and the ship's new XO, tied him up for a few hours extra.

Lee and Dualla were making wedding plans, and they were eager to share their excitement.

Bill was happy for them both. He already thought of Dee as a daughter, and knowing that she made his son happy, made _him_ happy as well.

Secretly, however, Bill wondered how Lee was going to fit into his Dress Grays, what with the number of stones he'd gained recently.

 _Being out of the cockpit makes a man soft_ , Bill thought sourly to himself, as he unbuckled the tight safety restraints of his Raptor. _Gotta hit the gym a bit more often, myself..._

But then the admiral remembered the main reason for his visit to the muddy planet, and he was anything but _soft_.

It was night time, so navigating through the encampment was not as near as easy in doing so in the daylight hours. But Bill knew the path to the schoolteacher's small and humble living quarters, every bit as easily as he knew his way to his own CIC.

Laura Roslin's tent was two flaps down from her school, and five each from the Thrace-Anders and the Tyrols. Bill wasn't quite sure where Laura's teaching assistant Maya, and her daughter lived, but he knew it was somewhere in the area as well.

Only the Gods knew where Tory Foster called home...

Laura's place was marked by a small pile of hand painted rocks arranged outside her tent, like bright flowers growing out of the mud. Bill liked seeing them in the daytime, and knew they'd been part of her students' art class. Kara had helped out, and Bill appreciated her attempt to get to know Laura as a friend, and not just as her former president.

As it was, Bill already knew Ms Roslin on a personal level, and he was anxious to deepen his relationship with her further, right then at that given moment.

They both had big plans for enjoying the three-day holiday ahead of them.

Once inside Laura's tent, he found that she was already in bed. A small oil lamp had been left burning for him, on the crate at her bedside.

Bill stripped down to his tanks and boxers, and gently uttered her name.

"Husker," she acknowledged groggily.

"Hey, Teach," he whispered in reply while slipping into bed beside her.

Laura made a sound beneath the covers that sounded like a mumbled, "Missed you."

Bill grinned as he pulled her body to him. He kissed her thermal-encased shoulder, and replied, "Missed you even more."

When he attempted to nuzzle her neck, she shied away from him and groaned.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

Laura actually whimpered through gritted teeth, as another wave of hurt rolled through her.

"The Curse is upon me."

It took Bill a few minutes to decipher what his lover had told him. Once he figured it out, he rolled her to face him, and kissed her tenderly.

"I'm sorry, Laura. Is there anything I can do?"

"No." The woman tear-ed up a bit, and then laid her head against his solid, warm chest. "I just want to die right here in your arms... okay? You feel so good, and all I want to do is frak you, and make a baby... but this godsdammed planet makes every woman's cycle go crazy... and here you are... and I can't be with you the way you want me to be with you... the way I want to be with you... and–"

He silenced her with a long and passionate kiss.

"S'okay," he soothed warmly.

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is."

Laura hummed and tried to push Bill off her cot, but he remained an unmovable object. She found herself kissing him out of lack of knowing what else to do.

"Does that make you feel better?" he asked against her.

"A little," she confessed meekly.

Bill rubbed his warm hands against the small of her back, soothing the tight muscles he found there.

"That feels good, too."

"I know something else that would make you feel better, as well."

Laura groaned as she felt the beginnings of his arousal. "Oh Gods, Bill are you that horny? If you are, then I suggest you visit the House of Virgon tent, or maybe ask Baltar if you can borrow one of his harem members for an hour!"

The admiral tried not to laugh, but failed miserably...

Which only made the teacher madder...

"Laura, you're the only one that I want. Even in the throes of Menses, you are still the most desirable woman that I've ever known."

"Bill–"

"I mean it," he promised. "I also mean it when I say that making love to you, and bringing you to orgasm, could ease your pain and make you feel a whole lot better. I don't have first-hand knowledge, but it's something that I heard my mother and grandmother discussing once."

Laura squeaked at the thought of young Bill taking that conversation in.

 _That poor little boy..._

"I know, Honey," she t old him. "But the thought is just rather... icky. I wouldn't want to get you all dirty, not to mention the bed and–"

"We could just pretend that I popped your cherry," Bill cut in. When Laura rolled her eyes in the low light, he gave in.

It was well enough for both of them just to be together, such as they were.

# # #

Over the next couple days, Bill took every opportunity to spoil Laura with her every wish and desire.

He cooked for her...

Read to her...

And he gave her the most wondrously delicious back-rubs known to all of Humankind...

At one point, Bill even hauled in a galvanized steel trough to her tent, and filled it with water that he'd gotten a dozen of her neighbors to heat for him on their various stoves and fires. Once coaxed out of her sickbed, Laura undressed quickly, then sank into the warmth of the water and the luxuriously soft soap bubbles Bill had added.

The scent of Lavender surrounded her...

And then came his arms...

Laura leaned back and felt Bill's solid chest, and then his kiss upon her naked shoulder

"Is this icky?" he asked near her ear, as water and bubbles sloshed over the sides of the make-shift tub for two.

"Nuh-uh," she replied with a very pleased hum.

The admiral chuckled.

"Thank you, Bill."

"Anytime, Laura."

More water sloshed out, as their hands moved beneath the herbal scented bubbles.

"I have to be back here in two weeks to go over the monthly Tylium report with the new boss. I was thinking that I could stop by and we could do this all again... and maybe work on that baby..."

Nothing sounded better, as Laura hummed in reply.


	15. Chapter 15: Bower Bird of Scorpia

NEW CAPRICA

It was a challenge, teaching to so many students of such varying ages, and learning levels, but Laura Roslin did the best she could with the task that she'd embraced fully.

Combining a variety of subjects and topics of discussion within each school day seemed to be the best way to go, for all concerned. It certainly kept things interesting and far from boring.

Even Tory Foster, Laura's teaching assistant, was engaged most of the time...

Each day, subjects focused on one of their former Colonies' 12 Worlds. As there were only five days to the school week, some days covered more than one world– oftentimes the less populated or affluent Worlds got grouped together.

Since it was Tuesday, the students were learning about all-things Scorpia...

More serious and complex topics about the planet's government and history involving the People's Institutional Revolution, or PIR, and the swiftly stern code of justice, were studied in-depth during the school's afternoon session of older students. And safer, less heavy themes like Scorpia's emphasis on family, culture, sports, and flora/fauna were great focus matter for the younger set.

"Have any of you heard of the Bower Bird?" Laura asked as she and Maya passed around copied pictures of a rather impressive black bird with a curved yellow beak, seen in various parts of the Great Scorpian Rainforest.

Marie, a native of that particular World, raised her hand. "Yes- we practically had 'em in our backyard in Celeste... and I watched a really cool documentary on them, once!"

Laura smiled at the girl, who she liked immensely. Marie was always very positive and did her best to help the younger students in the class. She was best friends with her desk mate, Paige, and together they were a great morale boost to the class.

"Wonderful," Laura commended her student. To the rest of her class, she asked, "Does anyone know why the Bower Bird is so special among the avian species?"

Marie started to raise her hand, but then took Ms Roslyn's gentle cue to her to let the lesson play out without commentary. The other students needed a chance to chime in as well.

One boy suggested, "Cuz it's really big?"

A girl noted, "It dances?"

Several students thought that the bird sang particularly well, or maybe had a funny call.

"All of those answers are correct," Laura confirmed. "But what makes it the most remarkable of all of Scorpia's native birds, is how and why it is named such as it is."

Young Marie grinned at Laura, who winked in reply.

"When the male Bower Bird is attempting to court a female, he builds a very large, elaborate bower– or arch, out of various twigs and grass and other forest material that he can find and carry in his very strong beak."

The children ahh'ed appropriately, in unison.

"After the bower is finished to his best ability, or liking," Laura continued. "The male then gathers all sorts of interesting objects, such as shells, brightly colored flowers, or anything shiny that may have found its way into the area. Sometimes he searches for days for these items, just so that he can place them around his bower."

"Why?" asked Harley, the youngest girl in Laura's class.

"To make the lady birds happy, duh!" her older sister Reagan suggested with rolled eyes.

"Typical of men," Tory Foster commented from her corner of the tent.

Laura treaded lightly, not wanting to show too much agreement with either- the young Reagan, or the sour Tory.

"The male Bower Bird does indeed, furnish his structure with all manner of trinkets to attract his potential mate. But it is ultimately the female who she wishes to make her babies with. The fancy or flashy-decorated bowers attempt to get her in the door, along with the song and dance routines put on by the male builders, but it is the female Bower Birds that hold all of the power."

And on that note, the class's leaning session ended.

# # #

Returning home to her modest living tent, Laura was welcomed by the spicy aroma of Tauran Stew, and freshly grilled flat-breads.

She kissed the cook, dutifully.

"How's the most famous teacher in all of New Caprica?" Bill asked as he took Laura's stack of papers that needed to be graded, and set them on the far end of the table in the center of her home. On the other end, two place settings awaited them with their steaming dinner.

"Tired, hungry, and missing you– but not necessarily in that order."

"Missed you, too."

"How long are you here for?" Laura asked as she sat down to eat.

The admiral sighed, "I go back in the morning."

They made the most of the time they had, enjoying each other's company over a delicious meal, and discussing their days. It was normal, and very nice.

While Bill did the dishes in the dedicated basin with water and soap, Laura graded the students' papers. Sometimes she read a particularly good or noteworthy answer given by one of the children. He always responded honestly with interest and enjoyment.

Later, after making very thorough love to each other, they laid in each other's arms and listened to the plops of rain upon the oiled roof of the tent.

"I made some adjustments to the cabin plans the other night," Bill told Laura, in the dark. "I'll bring them on my next Shore-Leave, and we can submit them to the Housing Authority for review. But you're gonna love 'em... plenty of skylights, to brighten things up in the day, and to read by."

She hummed at the picture he'd painted in her head.

"And a tin roof, with no leaks?" Laura asked as a large spot in the tent canvas threatened from above, to do just that.

Bill huffed as it finally did- dropping a big drip into one of his eyes. "Uh-huh."

Laura kissed the moisture away.

"I just hope to get approval to settle the land by the lake. Felix Gaeta keeps deflecting my inquiries regarding my application to the Department of Homesteads."

"Want me to put the heat on him?"

Laura playfully rolled her eyes at her lover. "He's not your lieutenant, anymore, Husker. You can't threaten him with a firing squad."

"And you can't threaten him with an airlock, Teach."

They both laughed at such suggestions, then made love again.

Much, much later, as Laura lay snuggled beside her sleeping lover, she could not help but liken him to the Bower Bird of Scorpia.

He cared for her likes and needs...

Spoiled her rotten with all of the things she liked and appreciated, most of which cost very little or nothing at all...

And gave her his most valuable asset of all...

His heart.

Out of the many men that she'd known over the years, William Adama was the only one that Laura Roslin had ever even considered choosing for a mate.

And yes, she most definitely wanted to have babies with him...

Bower, or no bower...

Cabin, or no cabin.


	16. Chapter 16: What Do The Gods Know?

_**A/N: Here's another big dose of fluffy New Caprican baby work, with a tiny bit of angst... Enjoy!**_

NEW CAPRICA

As she approached the Saggitaron oracle's tent, Laura Roslin hung back for a moment and watched as Kara Thrace-Anders dashed out from the indigo-dyed teepee-style structure.

There looked to be tears in the young woman's eyes, and Laura was torn as to whether or not she should go to her and try to help, or continue on her original mission. As it was, she only had a short time before the afternoon session of school began, and Laura needed to get this task taken care of...

She'd find Kara after classes had ended for the day, and they would talk as long as the former Viper-pilot would allow...

Ducking inside the oracle's tent, Laura's eyes had to adjust to the darkened space, having come from the overly-bright and overcast New Caprican noon.

The scent of patchouli and sound of soft chanting filled her nose and ears.

It was like her college days, all over again, and it made Laura giggle outloud.

The oracle wakened from her trance, not with an expected frown for the teacher's unintended disrespect to the strict teachings of the Scrolls, but with a rare smile upon seeing her latest visitor.

"You are here!"

"Yes," Laura replied, slightly taken aback. "I am here to–"

The oracle waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, the Ancients told me. Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

Laura thought of Tory and Maya having to deal with the unruly teenagers in the coming afternoon session, by themselves, and then she thought of Kara and her tears, and suddenly she felt tremendous guilt by making this visit.

"I just came for–"

"A potion, yes," the oracle confirmed as she pressed her palms together. The woman was tiny, with leathery skin and robes that jingled with bells. "Like the girl before you, I will help you with what you seek, but first I must make sure your intentions meet the plan of the Gods."

Laura placed her hands in the oracle's, and closed her eyes.

The oracle closed her own eyes and began chanting softly, once again. While doing so, Laura chanced a peek at the old woman, and opened one eye sneakily. The oracle knew what she was up to, and surprised her by staring back at her with both of her almond shaped eyes wide open!

"You are not unlike the young blonde who came before. But since you are both Believers, I will not judge. Now please, let us continue."

After that, Laura did only as she was told.

The oracle's chanting became more and more repetitive, and Laura could feel the old woman's spirit touching her own. It felt warm, and pleasant. She then saw a great flash of white light in her mind's eye.

And then the connection was over.

"Was that good... what just happened... was that flash of light, the–"

"Gods? Yes, my daughter it was. The Gods answered my request to speak with them on your behalf. It was a good visit, and I must say that they are very happy with you."

"Well, that's good," Laura replied with a deep sigh of relief.

"Your union with the Mariner pleases them greatly."

"The Mariner?"

"The Admiral. Your man, Adama."

Laura nodded at the old woman's clarification. The Scroll's writings were often clouded in symbolism, but sometimes they were also quite literal. Clearly, someone, be it the scribes at the time, or the Gods themselves, were smoking some pretty strong weed at the time of their writing.

"Your quest to conceive a child, will indeed be granted. Such has been foretold in their plan for The Guide and The Mariner. It will not be an easy journey, but the end is all that matters. There will be a New Life, and _she_ will be a tangible symbol of the love between you and your mate."

Quite speechless at such prophecy, Laura openly shed tears of thanks to the oracle.

To which the oracle warmly embraced her in a hug. "Never lose hope– or faith. You will be rewarded, my daughter... with a daughter of your very own!"

"Thank you," Laura said thickly. She could hardly wait to see her Mariner on his next Shore Leave, and continue on their baby-making journey.

"No, it is my honor to tend to you, Guide," the oracle told her. "My news for the Harbinger was not nearly so positive as my news for you, still I gave her the same potion that I will give to you. It will not hurt either of you."

Laura looked at the small vial of green liquid that the oracle pressed into her hands. "Is this... ambrosia?"

The oracle's cheeks turned impishly pink. "Yes, but with a few helpful herbs mixed in. Don't tell, anyone! Not even your man!"

"Okay," Laura replied with a sly smile.

"The herbs will make you incredibly horny... I suggest that you not even bother wearing panties beneath your skirts while The Mariner is next on-world. They will only get in the way of Progress!"

Laura was still smiling as she left the oracle's teepee.

# # #

After the second school session was over, and all of the students' papers were gathered and packed to grade later over dinner in her own tent, Laura was finally able to seek out Kara.

She was down at the river's edge, not far from the encampment.

The setting sun glowed softly behind the layer of ever present clouds, and it contrasted with the continuing blue mood of the young woman sitting on the bank.

Laura removed her boots and dipped her feet in the water as she sat next to Bill's adopted daughter. A few months prior, they'd all celebrated her wedding at that very same location, the morning after the Groundbreaking ceremony.

Such a promising time that was...

"Sam wants a baby, but the Gods say it ain't gonna happen."

Laura motherly tucked a lock of Kara's blond hair behind her ear, then pulled her in a sideway hug. The young woman was so buckled up that she didn't even flinch at the tender gesture.

"What do they know?"

Kara shot Laura a look of incredulousness.

"I mean it."

"Says the former Pythian Prophet."

"I seriously doubt that the Gods know what They're up against in a match-up with Starbuck," Laura stated with a smirk.

"Yeah, well try telling that to my missing ovary!"

"Come again?"

Kara sniffed and wiped at her runny nose. "When I jumped back to the Colonies to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo from the museum on Caprica, the Cylons captured me and did things... namely, they stole one of my frakking ovaries... and now I've just got one left and Cottle says it's not working right– and that's why Sam and I are having trouble conceiving. I just thought maybe the oracle might be of help, but I got shut down there as well!"

Laura's heart broke for Kara. She'd grown to truly care for the girl, and she knew how very much she wanted to be a good wife to her new husband, and start a new life on the miserable planet of theirs.

Kara laid her head on Laura's shoulder, and they stayed like that for well until evening. The clouds parted just enough for the stars to come out to play in the sky, and the twin guardians of the Galactica and Pegasus could be seen orbitting above as well.

"Is Sam waiting for you at home?"

"Naw– he's out on a hunting trip with his old Pyramid buddies... won't be home till tomorrow at the earliest."

Laura hummed as she stood, and pulled Kara up along side her. "Come back to my tent with me, and stay the night. I'll cook dinner, and you can grade my papers and then we can talk all night like teenagers..."

Kara snorted while they walked arm in arm. "No, _I'll_ cook dinner, _you_ grade your own damn papers, and then we talk all night like teenagers. Got it, Roslin?!"

"Sounds like a plan, made by the Gods!"

# # #

A few days later...

As The Guide laid in bed with The Mariner, they discussed The Harbinger and her own quest to make a baby.

"I've gotta admit, a little Starbuck, or a little Sam, running around here would be pretty nice," Bill confessed as Laura played with his dog tags. On his next visit, he planned to bring her a set of her very own, as he liked how they looked hanging between her breasts.

"Can you imagine what that would be like to have our own child grow up with hers? They'd get into so much trouble together," Laura envisioned.

"We'd be pretty much screwed."

"Speaking of being _screwed_..."

The Mariner husked warmly into The Guide's ear, and kissed her as he moved over her. "As you wish."


	17. Chapter 17: Hen Party

_**A/N: As the semi-idyllic days of New Caprica begin to run out, here is another shot of fun amid chaos- along with a side of angst...**_

NEW CAPRICA

In the beginning, Laura Roslin was unaccustomed to the noise.

She was very much used to her quiet little life on Caprica, with her rather sedate job as Education Secretary in President Adar's administration, her tidy little townhome in the Capitol District, and the small group of friends and acquaintances that were in her circle of people in her life.

Not since her childhood and the years thereafter with her parents and sisters, and then just her father and sisters, had Laura known what organized chaos looked– or sounded like.

Then the Colonies fell, and all that peace and quiet went by the wayside.

Endless noise from ship engines, alarms, shouting, and the din of humanity living in such close proximity, filled her days... and nights.

Settlement on New Caprica brought new sets of noises.

Gusting wind...

Pounding rain...

Loud music, at times...

Hard partying, frequently...

Fighting in the streets, always...

There were other noisy signs of life, here and there, that had their lighter moments.

The sound of a child's laughter...

Someone passing gas in a neighboring stall in the public latrine...

Jake, the Border Collie, barking for someone to play with him...

And then there were the just plain unique sounds.

The Gemense call to prayer...

Sonic booms, from the fly-over of a bored Viper pilot of either the Galactica or Pegasus...

And the unmistakable sound of noisy frakking coming from a neighbor's tent, or wherever such congress took place.

All the varied sounds of Humanity stopped, however, the day that the Cylons found them on Baltar's Rock.

They were quickly replaced by the marching clank of the Centurians down the streets of the settlement, orders being barked by a Cavil or a Six, and the metallic cocking of a sidearm.

For whatever reason they had, the Cylons waited a good half of a day before rounding up the key players within the community that either could or would be a problem to their occupation. "Let them squirm," said John Cavil, in speaking of those under guarded house arrest. "We'll take them in the morning, if that pathetic star they call this planet's sun, ever rises!"

So naturally, Cally Henderson Tyrol went into hard labor that very cold, dark, and quiet night.

Her screams of pain filled the gaps between tents, and then there were the shouts of her husband.

At first Galen Tyrol demanded that his wife be allowed to be taken to the Med-Tent, to be seen by Dr. Sherman Cottle, or at the very least, one of the civilian physicians and nurses who had joined in to make up the rest of the makeshift hospital staff. But the quick answer he was given was a very firm, _No_.

Cottle and his staff were up to their noses in trying to save the lives of a small band of drunken patriots who were bent on taking out a group of Centurions, only to have been shot and sliced to ribbons by the walking chrome toasters.

So, the Chief asked for the only other person that he deemed smart and reliable enough– other than Admiral Adama, of course, that he could entrust with the lives of his wife and unborn son.

The former President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol...

Laura Roslin.

And that's how Laura's too-quiet night came to be cut short.

An Eight and a Three were there at the entrance to her tent, along with a very nervous Chief. "Please, Laura," Galen begged. "I know you're just a teacher, and not a doctor, but you're... you're... so smart... and a–"

"Woman?" Laura guessed as she pulled her parka on. Due to the unknown, in regards to the Cylons, she was still dressed in her jeans and thick sweater from the day before.

"Oh I've got plenty of women in my tent," Galen replied without any regard to how such a statement could've sounded. "Ellen Tigh is there, and so are your teaching assistants, Tory and Maya. But none of them are you, Laura. Please?!"

The teacher sighed at the Chief's prospects, then put on her boots and followed him out into the snowy night.

# # #

The Tyrols' tent was warm a den of absurd chaos.

Ellen Tigh was raiding Galen's supply of homebrew, and mixing cocktails...

Tory Foster was drinking one of them, while relating a story about a cat she once had having kittens, and how the act of seeing the first one emerge from the birth canal had caused Tory to vomit...

Only the ever calm Maya was of any help...

"I think she's eight centimeters dilated, but it's hard to tell. The light is so poor in here," she told Laura, as her own baby, Isis slept nearby in a basket.

"Yes it is," Laura agreed with a nod. "Chief, is it possible to get more light in here?"

"Um, yeah..."

Laura watched as Galen searched the tent for more candles, only to come up short.

Cally's latest scream of pain didn't help matters.

"We really need more light, Laura," Maya told her boss.

Before the teacher could reply, another form of chaos arrived on the scene in the form of Kara Thrace-Anders, who was hand-cuffed to and dragging the Six known as Caprica beside her. The Six was supposed to be her Cylon escort, but for the moment Kara was in charge.

"Well if that ain't a sight that could get most men off," Ellen drawled in the direction of the two blondes.

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Kara replied with rolled eyes while the Six looked slightly flattered. To Laura, Kara tossed an area light into her hands, and said, "Sam's sick as a dog with the flu and needs to sleep. If that light helps Cally pop her kid out, so she'll shut the frak up, then have at it!"

Once Kara and the Six were gone, Laura set to work.

She'd been there for the home-birth of her sister Sandra. Laura's parents had been hippies at heart, and wanted things as natural as possible for the births of their daughters. When Laura was born, it had been just her mother and father, doing it all. With Sandra, there was a midwife. And when Laura's youngest sister, Cheryl was born, the delivery occurred in a hospital.

Needless to say, Laura was a big supporter of progress, and wished dearly they had either the staff of a hospital or even a midwife to make this go a lot easier.

"I feel the baby coming, for real, Madam Prez!"

Laura smiled as she knelt beside young, pained woman. Her hands were clean and as sterile as possible. As was the knife she had at the ready to cut the umbilical cord. Laura had long abandoned her parka, and the sleeves of her sweater were pushed up her arms. Even her hair was tied back, for the first time in ages.

The temperature in the tent seemed way hotter than it really was...

"Okay Cally-Girl, we can do this. So no more worries, alright?"

"'kay..."

"And that's my cue to leave!" Galen said as he began to take his exit.

"Oh no, Chief– you're staying right here!" Laura told him with her once-presidential authority. "Tory, stop him from leaving this tent!"

Her assistant reached out and grabbed Galen Tyrol by the collar, then shoved a bottle of his own beer in his hands and toasted him with her own martini. "Here's to Parenthood, DaDa!"

"A father's work is not done once he rolls off his mate and begins snoring," Laura told him while checking Cally's progress. She smiled upon seeing the crown of the baby's head, and informed both parents-to-be of the good news.

"I'm here, Sweetie," Galen whispered as tears began rolling down his cheeks without shame.

"I love you, Chief," Cally whimpered bravely.

"Luv, you, too"

As the husband and wife were about to kiss, another contraction tore through Cally, and she ended up screaming in Galen's ear.

All of the calmness that Laura had built within her patient had gone up in smoke. The young woman was in hysterics from the pain, and her pale bare legs began to shake beneath the blankets that were piled on top of her.

"Cally... Cally... look at me," Laura gently ordered her. "Do you remember how you were taught to breathe in the Oracle's classes?" When the young woman nodded and began doing so, Laura breathed with her, and even got Galen to follow suit.

Laura then checked the baby's progress, and saw that his head was fully emerged. She touched it, and felt the warmth of such new life, not to mention a scalp full of wet brown hair.

"Nicholas is here, Cally," Laura told the new mother. "One more big push, and he'll be all the way out, and ready to be in your arms... so give it all you've got!"

Cally nodded, then closed her eyes and bore down...

Within seconds Laura had him in her arms, and Maya was suctioning him with a bulb syringe...

The cord was cut, and then, just like that, two people became a family of three...

All of the pain, tears, and even the Cylon Occupation was forgotten, as the new parents got acquainted with their son.

Cally and Galen thanked Laura for everything, and even offered her a beer on her way out.

She declined with a smile, before she and the others were escorted back to their respective tents by Cylon guards.

# # #

Back in bed, and snuggled as best as possible under her meager layers of blankets, Laura listened as the silence returned to the encampment.

It was oddly nice, as she could hear the sound of her own beating heart...

And then she felt the gentle flutter from within her belly...

She waited patiently, and then there was a stronger kick.

Laura closed her eyes and squeezed at the tears that grew there. She and Bill had prayed for such a moment. Now that it was happening, he was not with her, and had no idea that such a new little life even existed.

She'd known that she was carrying their child during his last visit, nearly a month ago, but had wanted to wait until she passed her first trimester to tell him. Just in case...

Cottle had not been pleased with her.

But at the time, Laura didn't care...

As she laid in the very bed that she and her Husker had conceived their child in, the only thing on the Teach's mind at that moment was in keeping her baby safe.

Blessed genetics on the Roslin family tree meant that she was carrying small, and so far her pregnancy was not obvious.

Laura was thankful for that...

Not even Bill had noticed the last time they made love...

But she knew the Cylons would find out, sooner rather than later, and when they did, they would have a tremendous bargaining chip to hold over her.

And in that moment, Laura knew exactly how Sharon Agathon felt in regard to her Cylon-Human baby, Hera, who was being raised as Maya's daughter, Isis.

In the dark and quiet night, Laura Roslin prayed...

"Oh Lords of Kobol, please protect _all_ of our children..."


	18. Chapter 18: Mama

_**A/N: This chapter starts out kinda fun, but gets quite serious at the end. Caution to those who are sensitive... Let not your heart be troubled, this series WILL have a very happy ending, I promise. So say we all...**_

CYLON-OCCUPIED NEW CAPRICA – CYLON DETENTION CENTER

"Laura Roslin's blood work came back, _Positive_ ," Simon reported to the round tabled group of his fellow Cylons. John Cavil was there, along with Caprica Six and two of her sisters, D'Anna Biers, Boomer the Eight, and Leoben. The Five known as Aaron Doral was to join them soon.

"Isn't the former president a bit long in the tooth to be, _in the family way_?" Cavil queried the doctor of their group.

Simon coughed to hide his amusement at the de-facto leader's response, as he consulted the medical file before him. "We suspect that the life-saving stem cells that she received from Sharon & Agathon's child, did something to allow a pregnancy to occur."

"Now we can't play with her like we are the Galactica's former XO," D'Anna stated with a frown.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Boomer replied with gleam in her eyes. "Maybe a little payback is in order for Roslin. She didn't want my sister's baby to live, so–"

"No!" Leoben interjected sharply. "All life is sacred, so we must not cause harm to her child."

"Put a sock in it, you frakking bleeding heart!" scolded one of the Sixes.

"Now, now, children," John soothed with customary oiliness. "Conroy may have a point here... Roslin and her child may be worth far more to us as unharmed as possible... am I right, or am I right?"

D'Anna raised a brow at the notion...

Caprica grinned...

Boomer pouted...

"Did you run a DNA analysis on Roslyn's fetus?" Cavil asked Simon. Before the Four could reply, the wiley Cylon waved him off. "No need to ask who the daddy is. There can be only one candidate. Conroy?"

Leoben nodded. "Yes. When we brought Laura into the detention center, I read her. It wasn't as easy as before, when she was dying, and I suspect that the Hybrid's blood has something to do with that, as well, but yes... her child's father is indeed Admiral Adama."

"Is it healthy?" D'Anna asked Simon. "Is Roslin healthy, herself?"

The Four shrugged. "As much as any of the residents of this planet can be. Both the mother and child are anemic due to poor nutrition. The fetus is at 22 weeks, and would not be viable if born now. Her chances of survival to birth, are guarded."

"The child is female?" Boomer asked, then snorted with irony.

"Yes," Simon replied.

The Six, Gina Invierie, spoke next. She remembered seeing Adar's announcement of his cabinet pick for Secretary of Education, back when he was elected president of the Colonies. She hadn't much cared for Adar, himself, but liked the write-up on Laura Roslin, and had thought that she would be a good and wise choice for the position.

"The woman would then benefit greatly if we would help her obtain the proper care and nutrition for her and her developing child," Gina said. "Sherman Cottle is a wonderful physician by all accounts, but his resources are severely lacking, away from the Galactica's well-stocked Sick-Bay. Why, the Pegasus' ward alone could–"

"Ha ha!" John Cavil cackled as he rubbed his hands together with glee. "I love it when a plan comes to mind!"

After a long, dramatic beat, Caprica Six finally asked, "So?"

"Sooo, my bleached blond model... we take this opportunity to use Roslin and her whelp to get to the Baby Daddy and the Big Brother," John said of the elder and younger Adamas. "Surely Roslin knows their contingency plan in the case that we found them here on Baltar's Folly, every bit as much as Saul Tigh does. We can continue to have as much fun with the XO, and we will, but we'll never get what we want from him. He's a trained military man... but Roslin is not. The woman's a school teacher at heart, and now that she has a precious little bun in her oven, she'll fold like one of the Fives' tacky-cheap suits!"

"And we'll make her choose between the two that she loves the most. The well-being of her child, in exchange for the location of it's father," Caprica surmised with a nod. "Brilliant!"

"I'll be the one to talk to her," the Leoben spoke up. "I know that I can do this."

"Of course you can," John agreed. "And if not, I'm sure that Boomer here would have fun trying to convince the little mother-to-be, right my darling?"

The Eight blushed. "Right, Daddy!"

John Cavil grinned.

"Someone should tell Gaius," Caprica told the group, just as Aaron Doral entered the room with Baltar in tow.

"Tell Gaius, what!?" the president asked with his usual clueless-ness.

"Laura Roslin is pregnant," D'Anna announced, to the puppet-in-chief.

Baltar paled instantly.

"I swear to all of the Gods, those known to humanity, and the one known to Cylons– I had absolutely nothing to do with that! I may have had a few impure thoughts regarding Ms Roslin– more than a few, in fact, but I've never laid a hand– or my cock, on that woman! Not once! Not ever!"

In his head, the Red Dress Six purred, "Words spoken by every president down through the Ages. Congratulations, Gaius, you've finally become the man the people elected to hold the Office."

# # #

Laura Roslin was sitting up against one of the cement walls of the holding cell. She was in the lotus position, with closed eyes, and appeared to be praying when Leoben walked in.

"Praying is good, Laura. For you, and your baby."

The woman opened her eyes, and found the Two sitting beside her in the same position. His voice was frighteningly calm, as always.

"It's okay if you don't trust me," Leoben Conroy told her. "But it would be a lot better if you did."

He was so close to her, Laura could have grabbed him by the throat and choked him.

But she didn't...

He would only keep coming back...

"I don't know where he is," Laura stated finally.

Leoben stared at her through squinted eyes. He nodded. "But you do know of a plan, don't you? With the group of selected few... Tigh... Tyrol... and that has-been Pyramid player, Anders..."

"Frak you," Laura hissed.

Leoben grinned. "There's that Mama Bear spirit! Gotta love it, Laura. You may be without your precious airlock, but you're still the President at heart."

Laura felt her child kick within, and she couldn't help but place a hand to her almost flat belly.

"She's strong, like both of her parents," Leoben noted. "Tiny still, but with a huge spirit."

The baby continued to move, and Laura could sense Leoben invading both her and her daughter's souls. It scared her to no end, to think what the Cylon was doing to the baby, and knew that she was powerless to stop him.

"Jude," Leoben whispered, after finally breaking the connection. "Short for Judith, in honor of your mother. _Jude Roslin-Adama_. That's a very nice name, Laura. I'm not sure how Bill will like it, considering the fact that he is named not only for his grandfather, but his dead older brother that came before him... but considering the fact that he loves you with every fiber of his being, I'll take a guess that he will probably be all for it."

"What do you want?"

" _Everything_."

When Laura scooted away from him, Leoben laughed.

He stood, then dusted himself off and looked down at his prisoner.

"We're going to let you go, Laura. Your child has saved you from an experience not unlike what Saul Tigh is going through, in the cell down the hall. But Jude is going to need our help, in the very near future, if she is to survive to be born into the life you want for her. Help us, Laura, and we'll gladly help your child... it's your call."

Before the Two left the cell, Laura called out to him, "Where's Kara? I know she went with you somewhere."

Leoben faced Laura, then grinned cheekily.

"Bill's oldest daughter is safe, Laura. That I can assure you. She came willingly, and is being treated very well. The same could be said for you and Jude, if you help us. You hold great sway over the citizens, and if you'd only convince them that we've come in peace, then you and your child could be living right next door to Kara and myself. Jude could play with our daughter, Kacey, and it would be wonderful. Who knows, Bill might even come back someday, and then all would be as it should be."

Laura watched as the Cylon turned back and left the cell. In doing so, he kept the heavy door open for her.

As much as she wanted to, Laura knew that she couldn't trust a word he'd said...

Leoben models lied, and they were very good at it.

Laura got up gingerly, weak with hunger and thirst, and made her way to freedom.

Cottle, despite his displeasure with her for allowing herself to become pregnant in the first place, was helping to supplement her food rations with some of his own...

She thanked the gods every day for him, and his crusty, but tender heart...

And she prayed daily, for the lives of Bill and their daughter.

# # #

Six weeks later, while grading papers in her classroom, Laura went into labor.

Maya was there, and briefly left her own child to help Laura get to her tent, before summoning Cottle to help.

Ellen Tigh joined him, and was of actual help to the doctor and his patient.

"It's too soon... oh Gods... I can feel her..."

Ellen knelt beside the bed of her frienemy, and spoke in a surprisingly soothing and sympathetic manner, "That's good, Laura. You know she's strong, a fighter. Just hold onto that."

Before Laura could respond, a very deep contraction tore through her body. She felt like she was being ripped in two, and wanted to vomit, but there was nothing in her stomach.

Cottle snapped on a pair of latex gloves, and silently nodded to Ellen, then said, "Alright, Young Lady, this kid is comin' out like a Viper from a launch tube. One big push, and that'll be that."

Laura nodded, then sat up a bit. Reaching between her thighs, she could feel her daughter's head.

It was so warm...

She wished that Bill could have felt it as well...

He would be so excited...

Gripping the blankets with one hand, and Ellen's palm with the other, Laura bore down.

And then, Jude Persephone Roslin-Adama was there in the world.

Laura heard the baby's tiny mewing cry, as she fell back against the pile of pillows on her cot.

Cottle laid the very premature newborn on Laura's chest, and covered them both with several blankets. Ellen joined him as he stepped away from the pair, for a few moments.

"I don't think the child will live but a few hours. Were we on the Galactica, I'd have an incubator, and oxygen, and every bit of tech... but here..."

Ellen nodded. "It's a miracle she even was born alive."

Cottle grunted, then reached for a cigarette, but didn't light it. He'd wait until he was on his way back to the Med-Tent. "It was the same when the Hybrid was born. She came early as well..."

"And even then, with all the medical support, she didn't even survive."

"Yeah."

# # #

Laura spoke softly to the baby, as they laid together.

The new mother told her daughter all about her father, Admiral William Joseph Adama, and his great love for them both...

One day, all three of them would live together in a beautiful cabin, built by a lake of glass. The grass would be soft on the Shore, and the sun would be warm on their skin...

Jude would meet and know all of the Roslins, and the Adamas, but none would love her quite as much as her mommy and daddy...

Laura placed a kiss on the top of her daughter's head, and then she was gone.

# # #

Sam Anders solemnly took the tiny bundle, tucked it into his arm, and nodded.

He'd come to think of Laura Roslin, not just as a neighbor, but as a very good friend. He and Kara loved to speculate when the Old Man was going to finally make an honest woman of the very independent teacher, and planned to stand up for them when and if the time ever came. The older couple had done so for Kara and him, the morning after Founder's Day, and it would have been an honor to return the favor.

"In the mountains to the north, near Breeder's Canyon, there is a river that feeds into a lake..."

"I know the one."

"Good," Laura replied with a weak hum. She was still in her bed, but was doing her best to give an outward appearance of strength to the man before her. "The lake is a very special place for Bill and myself, and..."

"I'll pick a nice spot for her, Laura. Don't worry."

"This is a risky operation to break the curfew–"

"I won't get caught," Sam cut in. "Tyrol's going with me, and we both know how to get in and out of places without getting caught. This is the least any of us can do for you."

Laura thanked the man, then hugged herself. Her breasts ached to nurse her child, and she wanted desperately to hold the baby once more.

And never let go...


	19. Chapter 19: Back In The Fight

_**A/N: One last view from New Caprica... and a bit of encouragement for Laura, from a very unlikely source!**_

CYLON-OCCUPIED NEW CAPRICA

Three days had passed since anyone had seen Laura Roslin...

Not her students...

Not her teaching aides, Tory and Maya...

Nor even Dr. Sherman Cottle...

All had been turned away at her tent by the simple sign posted on the door flap, that read:

 **PLEASE, GO AWAY**

Even the brightly painted rocks that normally sat outside, had been taken in.

Laura Roslin was in mourning...

Finally, Ellen Tigh had enough...

Never one to stand on ceremony, Ellen tightened her pink-lavender parka, and marched herself down the settlement's busy street. Arriving at the teacher's tent, the wife of the retired Galactica XO, ignored the neatly printed sign pinned to the canvas, and barged right in.

The place was dark, and in surprisingly untidy repair. Food dishes sat on the table unwashed, various items of clothing were strewn about, and a few small books and remnants of what might have been a simple cloth doll laid together on the wooden floor.

Ellen nearly gagged, as Laura's chamber pot/buckets hadn't been dumped in days, and though their lids were tightly sealed, the smell in the air was still gods awful.

If only tents had windows, to let in fresh air and sunlight...

That is, if New Caprica had either one...

Ellen could've very easily tidied up the place, as she was actually quite good at such things, and not completely adverse to work, but she felt that Laura needed to do it herself. At the very least, the task would give the schoolteacher something to do, and a sense of purpose, rather than molder and ruminate on something that once was, and lost.

She put the small pot of soup that she brought with her, down on the table, after moving aside a bunch of clutter and debris. Then, after moving toward the back of the tent, Ellen found the bed, and what she assumed was its owner, curled up in the fetal position beneath a pile of blankets.

"Are you alive?"

After a very long pause, the teacher's voice replied beneath the covers, "Yes, unfortunately."

"Well, good!"

Laura uttered a very dirty Tauron curse word.

Ellen laughed.

Again, Laura swore.

"Did Bill teach you those words, or did you read them on the walls of the community latrine?"

"Don't you dare mention his name, Ellen... so help me–"

"Or what, Laura?" the blond cut in. "You're going to jump out of that bed and smack me? Well, I really hope you do... because we need a fighter right about now! But I can see by the looks of things, that's not you anymore... you're a frakking, no-good quitter! Thank the Gods, that Bill isn't here to see what you've become! The sight and smell of you and this place would break his heart and drive him to drink... why you're worse than Carolanne at her lowest!"

At that, Ms Roslin sat up and threw a slobbered-on pillow, at her adversary.

Ellen ducked, then laughed. "Is that all you've got?"

After swearing again, Laura threw back the covers, stood, and then lunged for Ellen. Her legs, however, betrayed her, and she ended up falling into the woman's waiting arms.

Ellen resisted Laura's initial attempts at beating her, and instead dug in her heeled boots, and hung onto the raging woman. When she let up, Ellen loosened her hold– only to then be pushed down to the floor.

Mrs. Saul Tigh ended up falling on her designer jeans encased ass...

First Ellen laughed...

Then Laura...

"And she lives! Thank the Lords!"

Ashamed, Laura helped Ellen up from the floor, and the frienemies embraced.

"Gods, Ellen... I'm sorry–"

"No you're not, Laura... and neither should you be. It's okay, believe me."

The former president hummed, then motioned for her guest to sit. Ellen did so, but only after Laura took a chair herself. The two women sat together in silence, and eventually Ellen dished them both some soup.

"Saul and I tried for years to have a baby, believe it or not."

Laura raised a brow as she ate.

"Yes, I know... neither of us are parental material."

"There are worse."

Ellen nodded. "I had three miscarriages, before we finally stopped. And no, I wasn't drinking during any of that time. Neither was Saul."

Laura put down her spoon, and looked directly at Ellen. "I'm not going to judge..."

"You'd have every right to do so," the woman replied with a shrug. "I'm no angel."

"And neither am I."

"Well, you're pretty damn perfect from where I sit, and you always have been, Laura."

"Tell that to my dead daughter."

Ellen paused for a moment, then got up from her seat and hugged Laura when she finally began to cry.

"It wasn't your fault, Laura. It was just–"

"Fate? Bad luck? What?"

Ellen pulled back and smoothed away Laura's tears. "It wasn't her time," she said in speaking of the baby. "Some day, but not now. And no, you cannot quit and go be with her, because right now you have to fight..."

"Yeah, right," Laura retorted.

"With Saul locked away in Detention, the resistance needs you to get back in the game, Laura. Fight for Bill... for your child... for all of it..."

Once again, the redhead swore a Tauron oath.

Ellen cracked a smile, then told her, "We all have to fight, Laura. By every means necessary."

Laura sniffed, then noticed a distinctive air of perfume surrounding the blond. "And how are you doing that, Ellen?"

The woman bristled slightly, then poured the contents of her soup bowl into Laura's bowl. The grieving mother needed the food far more than she did, and Ellen was glad when Laura finally continued to eat.

The school teacher didn't need to know about the appointments she'd been having with John Cavil, in hopes of the release of her imprisoned husband.

"By whatever means necessary, Laura," Ellen repeated.

Ms Roslin nodded. She certainly wasn't one to cast stones, given the fact that she'd once had a long, illicit affair with Richard Adar, her presidential predecessor of the Twelve Colonies.

So, she'd go to her grave with Ellen's secret...

Just as Ellen would, in regard to Laura & Bill's child...


	20. Chapter 20: Other Times

_**A/N: This is a Mega-Super Size chapter! It kick's off with content from a deleted scene from Season 3, set during the episode "The Eye Of Jupiter". That scene is one of my very favorite A/R moments, and so I had to include it here. What comes after the hashtags, is my offering to fill out the scene and fit it into this series. A final chapter is coming, after this one, but for now I hope you enjoy this one...**_

GALACTICA - COMMANDING OFFICER'S QUARTERS

"The child is alive, yes," the president confirmed, as she put on her glasses while sitting in the admiral's chair, behind his desk. "Yes, the child was at the school, and yes, I kept her there. We suspected that the Cylons captured her during the exodus from New Caprica. Yes, it's true."

While sitting in his own guest chair across from her, Bill Adama reacted to the words of his lover, in obvious pain. He bent over, and gripped his thighs while seething silently.

"Listen, the thing you might want to know, that at the time that Hera was born–"

Unable to hear more of Laura's words, Bill rose from the chair and retreated to the head to begin shaving.

Laura got up and went around to sit on the opposite side of the desk, to be closer to him, and speak to him through the open hatch to the private bathroom. "The thing you might want to know," she began again, "Is that at the time, Hera was very important to the Cylons, and I suspected that they'd stop at nothing to get her back. None of us could trust Sharon at the time, and I knew that if our people knew that there was a half-Cylon on board, that they'd try to kill it. And I thought the only way to prevent that was to hide Hera... raise her as a human... keep her close... keep her near me... and see how she developed."

Bill forced himself to concentrate on his task at hand, as he methodically lathered his face, and began drawing the razor across his face.

She joined him in the head, and continued her explanation.

"You might also recall, that at the time, you were very close to Sharon, or becoming so, and it uncomfortable for the fleet, so I decided not to tell you."

Once he finished shaving, Bill splashed water on his entire face, washing away the remaining suds and whiskers, and then slicked back his hair with his hands. Defeated, he hung his head over the sink, and gripped the counter top of the vanity.

He could feel Laura standing near him in the tight space.

She was in his head...

Literally, as well as figuratively...

"Alright, Bill, I don't know what I should do here," Laura stated in defeat. "Should I leave?"

"I can use a towel," the admiral finally spoke from his hunched position. His lover dutifully handed him the grey, Fleet-issue hand towel, and he wiped his face and arms. Once he felt presentable and able to address Laura without the emotions that threatened to erupt from within himself, Bill flatly told her, "I'm going to tell them their child is alive. They think she's dead. No one should have to live with that. And I think that they're going to want to get their daughter back."

Laura met his darkly blue gaze, and asked, "How do they do that?"

"I don't know," Bill replied quietly. "But I will say this– if it were my child, there be nothing, or anyone, that could stop me."

With a nod and a hum, Laura agreed, as he stepped past her and entered the main part of his quarters.

# # #

She followed him, not knowing what else to do.

Bill put on his jacket, and his glasses, and made his way towards the hatch to go tell the Agathons about Hera. He saw Laura's shoes, abandoned in the front room of his quarters the night before, and it made him pause.

She was near the sofa, when he opened the hatch, then turned around to face her, one last time.

Frak, but she looked like she thought he was going to hit her.

"Tell me, Laura, is there anything else that I should know, that you've been keeping from me?"

The president squared her shoulders, and silently shook her head.

She closed her eyes, unable to speak or look at the deeply pained man before her.

And then, the heavy hatch door clanged shut.

Laura finally let the tears fall, that had been threatening her for months.

When the Cylons threatened to shoot her, Tom Zarek, Cally Henderson-Tyrol, and a number of others, in a planned mass execution prior to the Exodus from New Caprica, Laura Roslin had briefly welcomed such an action. After her newborn daughter took her last tiny breath in her arms, Laura had wanted nothing more to do the same and follow baby Jude to the Shores of Elysian.

As the late, Ellen Tigh had once said, Laura didn't have that luxury.

But as the president saw it, she just couldn't get the job done.

She knew that she should tell Bill about their daughter, but there never seemed to be the right time.

If he had allowed himself to be beaten to a pulp, at The Dance, by Galen Tyrol, for abandoning his ship's crew, and letting them go to New Caprica before Earth was found, and the fight with the Cylons was over– then what would he do if he knew that they'd had a child, and that she'd died because of poor care and conditions under Occupation?

Over the next weeks, months, and even years, Laura would continue to ask herself that very question.

* * *

GALACTICA - SICKBAY

The President sat on the exam table, as Dr. Sherman Cottle discussed the details of the procedure that she already knew about.

"We'll start your first round of Diloxan treatments tomorrow," Cottle said as he read from her chart. "You know, none of this might not even be happening if you had listened to my warnings about not getting pregnant back on New Caprica."

"Yes," Laura replied with a solemn nod.

Perhaps she'd be seeing Jude, sooner than she thought...

"Do you have any questions?"

"No, but I do have a request."

Cottle exhaled the smoke from the cigarette that he'd just taken a drag off, and regarded his patient. "I'll probably live to regret this, but go on–"

"Bill can never know about that possibility... if he thought that he could have inadvertently caused my cancer to return–"

The doctor cut her off with a silent nod.

As Laura exited the cubicle, she all-but ran into the newly returned Sharon Athena Agathon, and her toddler-aged daughter.

Hera was red-faced, and screaming her lungs out.

Sharon glared at the president.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked, amid the tremendous tension and revulsion that emanated from the young mother.

"I don't know," Sharon replied with a trembling sigh. "She won't eat, and won't sleep. And I think she's afraid of Helo, and me."

Laura's heart broke, knowing that she had such a huge part in the child not knowing either one of her parents for so long.

And then, quite suddenly, Hera's eyes locked on Laura, and the child stopped crying.

Laura took a step back, as the girl reached out her chubby little arms, and grasped at the air in her direction.

Stunned, Sharon swallowed and then said, "I think she wants you to hold her."

"Is that alright?"

"I guess so."

Laura took Hera into her arms, and the child's tears stopped almost immediately. She tucked her curly little head beneath Laura's chin, sighed deeply, and then popped her thumb into her pink rosebud of a mouth.

Without thinking, Laura began murmuring a lullaby that her own mother sang to her when she herself was very young.

"She remembers you," Sharon noted in realization.

Laura placed a kiss to the top of Hera's head, as she rocked the now sleeping child in her arms. Carefully, she then placed the child in Athena's arms, and hummed at the sight of the pair together.

"Hera was such a joy on New Caprica. I deeply regret that you and Helo missed that time with her. The three of you will find each other's ways and rhythms, and your future with her will be full of love."

"Thank you, Madam President."

Laura hummed again, and nodded in silent affirmation, as she left the hospital ward.

And prayed that someday the same would be true for her own lost child, and her father.

* * *

GALACTICA - HALLWAY

The president was missing, again.

Since choosing to discontinue her Diloxan treatments, Laura Roslin had become more and more unpredictable, and it was causing the admiral to have a great amount of unease.

Over the past few days, his crew members had reported seeing the scarf wearing woman jogging through the hallways of the battleship, playing Triad with the pilots in the Ready room, and even hoisting a pint at Joe's Bar.

Not finding her in any of those places, Bill even tried calling Sick Bay, and over to Colonial One, but his lover was in neither of those places.

Standing in the hallway of his ship, the admiral was fit to be tied.

And then he saw Kara Thrace, and things got a little better.

"Hey, Boss! What's with the long face? Other than the fact that the Worlds ended, we're on the run from Toasters, and our ship's fallin' apart?"

"I can't find her."

"Who– your other half?" Kara asked with a smirk. She could tell things were really bad with the Old Man, as he didn't even remember to use their usual greeting.

Bill's wide shoulders slumped. "Have you seen, Laura?"

"Nope."

And then, a small voice from below waist-high, asked, "Who 'dat, S'Buck?"

Both the admiral and the captain looked down at the towheaded child, Kacey Brynn, who was holding onto Kara's hand.

The Viper pilot grinned at the little girl, and so did the admiral.

Kara squatted down to Kacey's level, and explained, "This is my boss, Admiral William Adama. He runs this ship, and watches over the entire fleet like a daddy."

"And who is this little princess?" Bill asked as he joined the pair at waist high.

"This is Kacey, Sir. Back when Leoben held me in his dollhouse during the Occupation on New Caprica, I was told she was my daughter." When Bill arched a brow at that, Kara sighed, and the action caused her long bangs to puff out. "It's a long story, but today her real mom, Julia, asked me to take Kace' to daycare for her, 'cuz she had to report in early to her job as a waitress at Joe's."

"Shouldn't you be flying CAP?"

Kara chewed her lip guiltily. "I will as soon as I get rid of the Nugget, here."

Bill fixed Starbuck with a mock glare, then stated, "I'll take her."

When the pilot bristled, the admiral insisted, and two minutes later Bill was walking into the Galactica's daycare center.

And it was there, that he finally found Laura.

"Can one more join the party," Bill asked as he entered the cheerful space.

The love of his life was awkwardly seated on a tiny child's chair, and serving as hostess to a tea party at an equally tiny child-size table. Nicky Costanza and Hera Agathon were in attendance, and the whole scene made Bill forget how frustrated he was with Laura.

"Yes, Sir, Admiral Sir," Laura replied with a smile.

The woman was incredibly beautiful to him.

Bill noted that Laura was wearing jeans, and her pink blouse over a rummage pile turquoise t-shirt, along with the beautiful flowered scarf from her late friend Emily. Old-fashioned black & white sneakers were on her feet.

"Who 'dat, A'Mil?" Kacey asked Bill in a loud whisper, as she pointed to Laura.

His mouth turned into a smile, as he set the little girl down to join the party. She hesitated, and grabbed at his pant leg, before he gently explained.

"This is President Laura Roslin, Kacey. She's a very, very important person to all of our people... and especially to me. She loves children, and used to be a teacher, so if you stick with her, then you'll be in good hands."

Laura smiled up at Bill, then at Kacey, who sat herself down in a vacant chair next to her.

"Bill–"

"I should be mad at you, Laura... but I'm not."

She hummed. "I just wanted to come here, and remember what it felt like to be–"

"Free?" Bill offered in suggested askance. He took one of the other vacant chairs at the table, and then carefully perched himself on it. The action made his lover giggle, and that made his heart soar.

"Yes."

"Being here, around all of this... it makes me remember seeing you in your school on New Caprica. I loved seeing you surrounded by all the students."

"And I loved it when you were there with me."

They kissed chastely, then watched together as Kacey, Hera, and Nicky played.

"I'm sorry that we never got to have one of these, together," Bill blindly said of the children. "But at least we had fun trying."

Laura fought back tears, as she remembered. "That we did," she replied, with masked emotion.

She was about to tell him, but then Felix Gaeta's voice came over the ship's communication system, calling for the admiral to return to the CIC.

Bill kissed her again, before getting up to leave.

"Are you game for a late lunch, say around 1400?" he asked.

Laura eagerly nodded in reply.

"Good, then I'll see you then, Teach."

"And don't you be late, Husker!"

* * *

GALACTICA - SICKBAY

As he held the hand of the love of his life, Bill Adama knew what he had to do.

Within the very hour that Hera Agathon had been taken from the ship, Laura had lost consciousness, and collapsed on the floor of their shared quarters.

The two had a bond that went back as far as Laura's then-miracle cure from cancer, stretching into their days on New Caprica when the child was known by another name and was being raised by a very kind and warm-hearted young woman, and even now in shared dreams and Pythian visions.

If he could rescue Hera, then maybe he could rescue Laura as well.

 _Babies..._

The word had scared him off, when Laura had uttered the word four years before, when they were docked on the Ragnar Base.

But that was what all of this had been about... why they'd been fighting so hard... living and dying and loving and hating...

All of it was in order for the Human Race to survive, find a new home, and then go forth and thrive.

They'd lost so much... Kat, Cally, Dee, and Felix– all among those who were gone by whatever means. Ellen Tigh had been lost– for awhile, but then like a bad cubit, she came back– for the better, perhaps. Kara, had miraculously returned as well, only to lose her husband Sam, to a life in limbo.

Even his ner'do'well XO, Saul, had lost a child– the unborn Liam, conceived with the Six, Caprica.

Bill huffed at the thought of the old coot being a dad, and imagined that he would've been pretty good at it. After all, he'd seen Saul change a diaper, on more than one occasion, and his friend wasn't half bad at the job.

Laura's eyes fluttered open, and it brought Bill back to the present– and her.

He loved all of the many ways that she looked at him, and he prayed that this was not the last time that she did so.

"Bill... I need..."

He caressed her face. "Anything, Teach– it's yours for the asking."

She tried to smile, but ended up coughing instead.

"Husker... we had..."

"I know, we had everything– and we still do," Bill told her in a soothing tone.

Laura tried to speak, once more, only to slip back into the abyss.

Bill held his breath as he checked her pulse. It was weak, but still there.

His scarred heart continued to beat as well.

* * *

EARTH

Laura watched as Bill stood off in the near distance with his friend, and former XO, Saul Tigh. The two had been through so much together, over the years... and she prayed that they would remain close... once she was gone.

Ellen came to her, and the two women hugged.

Laura wished that she'd had more time to have gotten to know her. That Cylon Bitch was a frakking good friend, indeed.

"Are you alright, Laura? I mean–"

"Yes, Ellen... I am..."

"Good."

Laura took a deep breath of the clean, sweet air of their new home, and then hummed.

It was good.

"You never told him, did you?" Ellen asked, as they sat beneath the tarp/lean-to.

"No."

"That's probably for the best."

"I hope so," Laura replied wistfully. As it was, she was always the more selfish one in their relationship. Bill was always so blindly innocent, and righteously good.

Ellen hugged her friend, then whispered into her ear, "Your daughter is waiting for you, Laura. Just keep holding onto that."

And so she would...

All the way to the end...

* * *

EARTH - FIVE YEARS LATER

Twice a day, every day, he visited her.

Flowers of many colors, had braved the rocky conditions to grow and carpet Laura Roslin-Adama's burial mound.

It was so like her to create such beauty, amid great challenge.

"I finally finished the cabin today," Bill told Laura. Even though she was not really there, he still felt her presence. As the former admiral sat, he felt the weariness in his body.

Such physical labor had been good for him, as he'd lost much of his gut that he'd acquired over the years, and the long hours spent working on the home kept his mind active. His hair had gone completely silver, and had grown well past his shoulders, and Bill liked to think that Laura would have enjoyed the ponytail he now wore... along with the return of his mustache.

"It looks good, and I think you'd like it," he told her. "The roof leaks a bit, but we were used to that on New Caprica, weren't we?"

He could almost hear her giggle.

"I'm thinking of visiting the main settlement tomorrow, if the weather holds," Bill offered. "Every time I go, there are more and more babies. You'd be very proud of our people."

Her hum filled his ears.

"Cottle took up briefly with Ishay, that is until he keeled over and died on her one night, and left her with a little redheaded girl she named Rosie. Lee came back from his travels, not long after, and married her, and now they're expecting together. If it's a boy, they plan to name him Joseph.

Baltar and Caprica have five of their own, so far. I forget their names and genders, but all of them are little hellions, and torture their father unmercifully. You'd love it.

Likewise, Hot Dog is getting his ass handed to him by his rowdy son, Nicky. The boy's heath is doing fairly well, thanks to holistic medicines put together by Baltar, I might add. Cally would be thankful, as we all are.

Romo Lampkin married an Eight... Grace, is his wife's chosen name... and they're due any day now. Julia Brynn made peace with Leoben Conroy, for stealing her daughter, and now they're raising Kacey together, and telling her daily stories about Kara, and keeping the legendary name of Starbuck alive and well."

Bill paused for a moment, and felt the evening breeze swirl around him. It felt warm, and smelled like Laura.

"Figurski traveled up North, and found Galen Tyrol, who's got quite a harem of Native females... needless to say, there are now about a dozen little Chiefs running around that heather-covered land, in kilts and blue body paint. It must be quite a sight.

Also a sight, and one that I think you'd most enjoy, is Saul and Ellen."

Bill heard a bird off in the distance, and it sounded just like Laura's laugh. It was almost as if she knew what he was about to tell her.

"After all the years that have past, the Tighs are finally parents– to Cylon twins, no less," Bill said with a laugh. It hurt his chest, but it felt good. "Ellen had been quite sick for awhile, and then Ishay figured it out. Five months later, Mary and Liam were born. The kids are three, now, and play with Sharon and Helo's younger children.

Hera, by the way, is a very beautiful young lady. Strong and healthy, and a force to be reckoned with... just like you."

The sun was setting, and Bill Adama could feel the chill in the air begin to creep around himself. It should have bothered him, but it didn't. In fact, he welcomed it.

"I think you'd be proud Laura," he told her spirit. "We did all that we could, you and I, and the people are safe and making plenty of babies."

He felt his arms tighten, as if his wife were embracing him.

"So, I'm ready to join you.. anytime now... send Charon, and I'll be there with you on the Shore as soon as the ferryman can paddle the boat to Elysian... the cubits are already in my pocket to pay him."

And the wind said, _So Say We All..._


	21. Chapter 21: The Shore

_**A/N: Here we are... the final chapter! I've SO loved writing this series, and each review and kind word is most treasured. Thank you for reading... =]**_

ELYSIAN

Bill Adama woke...

And smiled...

A great number of things about The Shore, fascinated the former admiral.

Like sleep, for instance. How could it be possible that when one was quite literally dead, the need or want to slumber would even exist?

Eating– and eliminating, were two more concepts that also were part of Shore Life... or death, depending how one looked at things. The former did not shock Bill that much, as partaking in a good meal or a tasty snack was one of the greatest pleasures known, while the latter was far less enjoyable. Although, the feeling of relief after, was admittedly pretty nice.

Work, was elective, although encouraged. One didn't have to work in Elysian, but loafing around for all of Eternity could get rather boring, so most chose to do something with themselves. Many pursued life-long hobbies or dreams, while others took on Guidance & Opportunity jobs, such as watching over loved ones who were still living, or assisting God in creative tasks like painting the sky at Sunrise and Sunset, and inspiring great thought among Humanity.

God, Himself, came as another big surprise to Bill, being the nearly life-long Atheist that he was...

As it turned out, the Cylons were right– and not the Humans...

There really weren't multi Gods, high on Mount Olympus, but one true God...

The fact that their creator looked human, was not too much of a stretch- but instead of having white hair and wearing a long flowing robe, the fact that the guy had dark shaggy hair and a neatly trimmed beard, and went by the name of Ron– well, that was possibly the most ironic surprise of all!

Not a shock, was the absolute absence of illness, pain, and war.

Bill Adama smiled and stretched, in the very comfortable and large bed that he shared with his wife, in the cabin of their dreams.

Outside, there was a beautiful stream that fed into a glassy lake. Tall, sweet smelling grass, and a sandy beach lined the crystal clear water.

The Adamas were officially married there, in the sight of both of their families and friends that had passed on, and had spent many a day since, swimming in that lake, or beside it while sharing a romantic picnic and making love in the sunlight.

Frakking...

Thank God– Ron, that particular joy from the land of the living, also existed in Elysian!

Bill reached for Laura, wanting to do just that, but found her to be missing.

And then, he heard the unmistakable sound of her retching, from just inside their en-suite bathroom.

Flashed memories of Laura's battle with cancer, and the effects of its treatment, caused a very worried Bill to jump out of the bed, throw on his jeans and tanks from the day before, and go with great haste to her.

Laura had just flushed the elongated toilet in their shared bath, when her husband padded into the room.

"I'm okay, Husker," she told Bill before he could ask.

He put his arms around her, and helped her to stand. "Are you sure?"

Laura nodded as Bill held her. "I think so."

"We should call someone..."

"Who? A doctor? Bill, we're both dead– I don't think one can die again, once you've already reached The Shore."

Normally he loved Laura's trademark dark sense of humor, but in that moment Bill Adama only wanted answers and not some glib retort.

"Honey, I'm fine," Laura soothed her husband, even as another wave of nausea churned her shaky stomach. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that I was–"

Before she could finish, there was a knock at their front door.

Torn, Bill looked to Laura, then out into the main part of their cabin. He was worried about his love, but if whomever was on the other side of the door could help her, then he was all for it.

"Go," Laura Roslin-Adama told her husband. "Get the door while I finish dressing. I'll be right there in a minute or two."

Before Bill could protest, she kissed him... and then she realized how bad her breath might smell from having been sick so recently.

"I don't care," he replied after her apology. To add emphasis, he kissed her back, then said, "I just want you to be alright."

"I am," she replied in his arms. Once Bill was gone, Laura smiled hopefully, then placed a hand to her abdomen and softly added, "And so are you, _Jude_."

# # #

"Laura is pregnant," the former priestess, Elosha, confirmed to them both.

"How'd that happen?!"

Sherman Cottle stared blankly at his former commanding officer, and wished for all of Elysian, for a cigarette. He would have enjoyed one in that moment, had he still been alive to partake in such a vice.

"Well, Bill, if you don't know by now, where and how babies come to be, then there's absolutely no hope for you at all!"

The father-to-be stared at Laura, who sat poised on the back of their sofa in the main room of their cabin. She was fully dressed, in yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt. Her hair and skin were practically glowing already, and the smile on her lips was beatific.

When the woman said nothing, Cottle rolled his eyes. "For Ron's sake, Laura, haven't you told your man yet?"

Sensing possible tension in the air, Elosha gave her warmest congratulations and blessings to the couple, then whisked her own partner out the door and into the Elysian day.

Cottle & Elosha, as a couple, were another surprising aspect of The Shore.

They'd already been well established, by the time Bill arrived.

Likewise, Kara and Sam had reunited, with little fanfare– but a whole lot of heat...

Anastasia Dualla, otherwise known as Dee, reunited with Laura's former aide, Billy Keikeya...

Tom Zarek took up with Laura's other aide, Tory Foster– _and_ the other Cylon Good-Bad Girl, D'Anna Biers...

And somehow Louanne 'Kat' Katraine, found peace and true love on The Shore, with the other Adama son– Zak, who fit her quirky soul to a tee...

But the only couple that mattered in that very moment, was Bill & Laura Adama.

Each stared at the other.

And then Laura finally confessed to her partner, in life and beyond, the secret that she'd withheld for far too long.

"We made a baby on New Caprica. She was born during the Cylon occupation, and I named her Jude."

Bill took a seat on the edge of the sofa, near Laura, and stared at the hardwood floor of the cabin. A rug, similar to the one in his quarters on Galactica, lay nearby. It softened the space, with its warm colors, and looked very homey to them both.

"Obviously she didn't make it."

"No," Laura confirmed as she studied her hands. Bill's gold band graced her left ring finger, reminding her of their eternal bond. She looked him squarely in the eyes, and for the first time since they'd been reunited, there was pain in their dark blue depths.

"Then, how...?"

"I don't know. I looked for Jude, from the first moment the I arrived, until you came. But nothing. There wasn't even a cradle, waiting here in the cabin, that had been made for us. I asked everyone, but there were no answers. My sister, Sandra, who'd been pregnant when she'd died, had apparently arrived here– still pregnant, and gave birth to her son, not long after. Tomas was already grown to late adolescence, by the time I arrived, so I never saw him as a baby."

To either of their knowledge, no couple had ever conceived and bore a child in while in Elysian.

After many minutes had passed, Bill finally smiled.

"She's a miracle, Laura," he said of their child. "Jude is a miracle in every sense of the word."

"Yes, she is that indeed."

The couple kissed, finally enjoying the moment. It was a kiss that was not unlike the one they'd shared upon being reunited, when Bill had jumped from Charon's boat upon seeing Laura on the grassy Shore– and when she'd rushed out into the water to meet him halfway.

Bill swept Laura into his arms, and carried her back to their bedroom.

There, they made slow and thorough love to each other– another joy and pleasure of The Shore.

Sex in Elysian, was even greater than it was in the land of the living. As each party felt their own pleasure, they likewise felt the other's ecstasy as if it was theirs. There was total and instant response, with nary a bit of communication needed.

"Do you think we scared her? That I scared her when I was inside you?" Bill asked, sometime later.

Laura laughed sleepily, as she laid in her husband's arms.

Afterglow was another sweet discovery of The Shore, as each mate's body was softly illuminated in joyful light...

"No, honey. I don't think it works that way... If anything, Jude just knows how much her mommy and daddy love each other."

Bill huffed, then grinned. "I can't wait to see her."

Laura hummed. "Me too."

# # #

In the next few months, Bill and Laura enjoyed all of the tender and special moments of her pregnancy that they'd missed out on during the first go-around.

Cravings...

Nesting...

Kicking...

"She's going to be a star soccer player," Bill predicted one day.

"Or a boxer, like her Daddy," Laura suggested, as she felt a definite, yet tiny, fist punching from within.

While Laura tended to their garden and learned how to knit better, Bill added another room onto their cabin. He also raised the roof line and added a loft for their library of books. The cozy area would be a wonderful place for their daughter to play in the future, and dream as she gazed out the skylight at the clouds and stars above.

Then, one day, as the parents-to-be laid in the grass near their lake, Laura went into labor.

She wanted to stay there, to have Jude in the sun and by the water that she and Bill so loved...

But he said no...

Although Bill knew that there would be nothing to fear during the birth, he wanted the traditional safety and love of their home to surround his daughter in her first moments of New Life.

And so Laura said yes...

The pain of labor was the first discomfort that Laura had felt since her cancer, and was every bit as deep and real as it had been during Jude's first birth on New Caprica.

It hurt like a mother-frakker...

But the payoff would be oh-so sweet...

Bill was there with Laura, and that was all that mattered. He made her as comfortable as possible– rubbing her back, walking with her as the need came, and cooling her sweaty brow with a wet cloth.

He even sang to her, just to make her laugh through the painful contractions.

When Jude's head finally emerged, Bill saw a flash of fear in Laura's eyes. Quickly, he moved to kiss the emotion away.

"It's not going to be like last time, Teach. Our girl is strong, and destined to be with us. Remember what the oracle told you long ago, on New Caprica?"

Laura nodded through the pain, as Adama babies tended to have wide shoulders.

 _The Guide & The Mariner shall bring forth a New Life– and she shall be the tangible symbol of their love..._

"It's going to be alright, Husker," Laura stated finally, as she kissed her husband.

And it was.

Mere moments later, Jude Persephone Roslin-Adama was in her daddy's large and very capable hands, crying her healthy little lungs out like a future president or admiral. It was music to both of her parents' ears, needless to say.

Tenderly, Bill laid his daughter on Laura's chest and joined them both in the bed.

Jude was a total and sweet combination of them both, with dark red hair and tan skin...

She had her mother's small and delicate hands...

And her father's wide feet...

"She's perfect," Laura declared.

"Just like her mommy," Bill added, as he kissed both of his girls softly.

Laura hummed, as she kissed her husband's smiling mouth. "And her daddy."

The new parents watched with pride, as Jude latched on easily to one of Laura's yearning breasts, and began to suckle like a little pro.

Both Bill and Laura agreed that it was the most beautiful sight that they'd ever seen, and well worth the very long journey that they'd taken to get there.

And it was about time...

#END#


End file.
